Love and Hate
by AlexShea
Summary: After 2.9. After that 9-ep slow burn, Charlie sets out to seduce Monroe and begins an interesting journey. My notes are in the reviews.
1. Chapter 1

There is something that changes you when you watch someone you know die regardless of the circumstances. Survival is a natural instinct. Humans are a cruel vicious species, but can also be compassionate and kind. Hard times can make the best of us do the worst of things. Emotional losses can cripple us sending us into a tailspin and knocking us off our path down darker roads. Sometimes we find our way back by ourselves and sometimes we have help. Other times, we are perpetually lost in a maelstrom of pain, anguish, loss, hate, and revenge. All those darker negative emotions that blind us. She understands that now.

She doesn't want that, but often times, our hearts overrule our heads. Our emotions drive us where we leave rationale and reason behind. As much as we try to get back on that path, we cannot. Sometimes when we say we'll never do something, we usually mean it, but circumstances change quickly especially in these dark and chaotic times and at twenty-one years of age, she understands this. It is a maturity that many her age will never grasp until they're in their late thirties or early forties or sometimes never. This world is not black and white.

Charlie is going to seduce Monroe.

She doesn't know when she decides to do it. One day she's simply looking at the man that has caused so much pain to her and her family and decides she is going to seduce him. The ramifications will be significant IF she's successful. Her mother will probably disown her and Miles? She isn't sure how he'll react. Probably not good.

Once she starts thinking about it she can't stop. She catches herself watching him. His blue eyes. His curly brown hair. His arms and back muscles strengthened by years of training. His strong jaw covered in three or four days growth. His toned stomach and long lean legs. It is his eyes though that holds her long after she stops looking at his body. His eyes hold his pain. So much pain, guilt, and suffering. The depth of it resonates and holds you. She had once thought they were cold and empty. She was wrong.

They spent several weeks alone together on the way back to her mom and Miles and she didn't once think of seducing him then. Well, she wouldn't say that. She thought of it, but dismissed it. Alright, she thought of it a lot especially when he paraded around without a shirt and his pants hanging around his hips. For a sociopath, he has a nice body, is fairly attractive, and she's been a long time without sex.

It isn't only his body though. It's his silence then the ambiguity of unexpected emotional stories of his past and the pronounced impact of them on him. He is transported to the past when he tells them and just as suddenly he's back in the present and dismissing them either chuckling and making a smart ass comment or turning to something mundane and trivial.

There are his small gestures of kindness and compassion that, at first, she finds infuriating as some type of last grasp at redemption. She then realizes that the acts are simply that: his last hope of atonement and a way to try and start forgiving himself before anyone can possibly consider forgiving him.

As much as it grieves her to admit it, he makes her feel safe. He protects her. Consistently. Without regard to his own safety.

There's the way they communicate with each other. Something visceral between them. A connection she can't quite shake. And there's her attraction to him. Something she's tried to shake since the beginning. She is becoming more and more aware of him. She finally begins to look at him. Actually see him.

It is unsettling to find that your nemesis, your most hated foe, is somehow spiritually linked to you. It makes for some interesting emotions and revelations.

The last few times he catches her staring. He stares back an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes, which he quickly covers.

"What?" He asks his voice low seductive not meaning to be.

At first she shrugs and looks away guilty at having been caught. These last three times he simply looks at her and she stares back. She is the first to look away flushing slightly as though he's reading her mind. Unspoken words with their eyes. It is somewhat unnerving.

It isn't long after till the first accidental touches exchange between them. The first touch is unlike anything she's ever felt before. Hot. Cold. Burning. Freezing. Falling. Fear. Joy. Pleasure. Pain. Exhilaration. Passion. An amalgamation of emotion straight out of a steamy romance novel. She couldn't possibly stop after experiencing that. A glancing touch here and an 'accidental' touch there. She thinks she's being discrete, but one day when she walks past him, he 'accidentally' and by accidentally she means purposely, bumps into her his hands shoot out to catch her. She looks up into his eyes only inches away from hers his hands lingering a little too long sliding down her arms, sides, and hips slowly. She shudders. She walks away exasperated wondering who is seducing whom. She needs to cowboy up or she needs to stay away from him period.

It wasn't long ago they had watched him executed for his sins. Well, the sins the Patriots say he committed that they actually perpetrated. That was another moment in Charlie's life she will never forget. It changed her. It changed her relationship with him. It changed his relationship with her mom and Miles and it had definitely changed Monroe. It had given him some much needed redemption. Still not enough to wipe away his sins of the past in his own eyes, but it had been a start for him. His burden had been a little lighter since. His arrogance had not.

Charlie realized that their 'flaws' in feeling compassion towards Monroe were, in fact, not flaws or weaknesses at all, but strengths. A moral compass she needs to always point towards. Forgiveness and compassion are not weaknesses and they are not easy. Caution perhaps a necessary part of those traits. Hate and revenge are weaknesses and they are much easier to accept, but they easily become a burden. A weight. A tumor. An infection that grows.

Her mom has not changed so much towards him. Perhaps a little. The devil we know attitude and his attempt at redemption seemed to soften her some. She kept him alive because they need Monroe to fight the Patriots. She said she had done it because Charlie asked her to. If only she knew.

It is that night she decides. She knows he occasionally goes for a swim in the lake at night so she goes ahead before him. She takes off all her clothes and dives in. The night is humid and hot and the water feels good. Nice and cool against her skin. She swims for about thirty minutes when she notices him near her clothes on the bank.

He leans against the tree looking at her then glancing around. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself." His voice purrs over her skin. It's low and has always sent chills up and down her spine although the emotions it provokes has changed dramatically. The phrase 'a thin line between love and hate' is oh so accurate between her and Monroe. Both emotions can elicit passion. Lust. Anger.

She continues to be amused by his inability to accept that she does not need a man's protection. Yet, he continues to push his towards her. Must be something innate or Darwinian. In most men she finds it annoying; from him...charming. "I'm not by myself now and besides, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." She's smiling and her voice comes out a bit more breathless than she anticipates. Her exertion from swimming and the way he is leaning against the tree looking at her leaves her short of breath. His face is in the shadows. His body is not.

It's not too dark where he's standing. She built a fire before diving into the lake. The orange glow bathing him in a soft light. She sees his face, but not his eyes.

She swims to the shore and exits slowly walking right towards her clothes which are at Monroe's feet. She doesn't take her eyes off him the entire time. She moves toward him slowly and seductively. She raises her arms pulling her hair around to the front and twists the water from it while moving towards him tall and totally nude beads of water sliding down every inch of her body. She hesitates only a brief second then continues walking head held high with more confidence than she has. She recalls someone once telling her if you don't have the confidence, act like you do so she does. She walks right up to him.

He makes a good show of looking like he's casual, but she knows she's getting to him. That connection and all. She smiles.

He pushes from the tree suddenly standing inches from her. She can feel his breath on her face. She's tall. He's taller. His lips are at her eye level. Those lips have her undivided attention of late as they did now. She finds herself looking at them a lot lately.

"You shouldn't be here alone, Charlotte. It's dangerous."

"I am not a child."

"I think we can establish that," he says doing a once over his voice rough. "Why are you here, Charlotte?" The sound of his voice does things to her stomach. Butterflies. He gives her butterflies. Yes, butterflies. She's heard of them, but never experienced them. She's not a virgin nor a...whore, but this...she has never experienced. Only read about in romance novels left over from another time. A happier time.

Monroe puts his hands in his pockets of his jeans and leans back from her grinning. "Are you trying to seduce me, Charlotte?"

She doesn't hear him at first. She's staring at his lips. She isn't very good at this obviously if she's addle brained and without speech. He's far more experienced than she is. _Speak, Charlie!_

"What?" She feels...mute. "I…" She doesn't finish robbed of speech by the intensity of his eyes.

He leans towards her. She can feel his breath on her face. His finger tips her chin up looking deep into her eyes. Her breath skips. "You don't wanna dance with the devil, Charlotte. You might sacrifice more than just your body."

She can't help it. She laughs outright and a big smile spreading across her face. This entire scene...and he's trying to scare her. Right. "The devil, huh? Sounds...fun."

He lets his finger slide down her neck and the middle of her chest following the beads of water before leaning down to pick up her clothes at her feet. He pushes her clothes into her hands and walks off leaving her standing there challenged, breathless and...amused. Fun.

Bass walks away from Charlotte needing someplace...anyplace to get away from her. He swears under his breath as he makes his way around to the other side of the lake. Had he ever walked away from a naked woman before? He cannot imagine he had.

A woman. He is calling Charlotte a woman now and Christ is she ever. If he hadn't left when he did he didn't want to think of what would have happened or else he'd turn around and go back to her. Just thinking about the beads of water running down her hard body, over her breasts, down her stomach, and those incredibly long legs. And she laughed at him challenging him with that flicker of mischief in her eyes as if to say _bring it_. It sent a surge of lust through him. "Fuck."

He recognized the signs from Charlotte weeks ago. He'd catch her staring at him. At first, he thought it was the continued hate and hostility she threw at him or planning to slit his throat in his sleep. It wasn't long till he realized it was something more. The impact of that left him stunned. For once, he was at a total loss. He didn't know how to react especially when she started 'accidentally' bumping into him and touching him sending a flood of desire through him the equivalent of being struck by hundreds of bolts of lightning so strong it left him shattered and practically brought him to his knees. The emotions she provokes in him leaves him confused beyond anything he's ever experienced and a surge of adrenaline that makes his heart race like he's free falling without a parachute. The heat and attraction he began to feel with that realization was something he was unprepared for and still isn't. It left him raw and exposed. Dizzy. A euphoric high he couldn't quite squash.

He is twice her age. Hell, he apparently has a son older than she is. His body doesn't seem to acknowledge that. In the past, he hasn't really thought of age as an issue. Maturity, a tenuous connection at best, and attraction, yes; age, never. Older or younger, as long as the woman is an adult and there is a mutual attraction and connection, it hasn't really mattered, but this is Miles' niece and Rachel's daughter. Not only that, she infuriates him with a passion. She awakens emotions within him he hasn't felt in a really, really long time, if ever.

There is no denying the girl is a Matheson. He recognized it immediately in Philly when she stared down that gun and demanded Strausser shoot her and was annoyed with her mom when she wouldn't let him kill her for the _greater good_. He must have identified with it on some subconscious level. The connection he has always had with Miles, he has with her. She is a mini-Miles...and Rachel and if he hadn't known any better, he'd thought she's Miles' daughter instead of Miles' brother Ben's daughter. Since meeting Charlotte, he's actually wondered about it, but Rachel is something he and Miles do not talk about. Ever. Miles and Rachel's relationship has always been a taboo subject. It didn't stop him from considering that she is Miles' daughter and the more he gets to know Charlotte, the more it confirms his suspicions and that makes his intense attraction and connection to her even worse. An attraction to his best friend's daughter?! Christ, he's in trouble.

Her lips though. Her body, her crooked smile...he stops, hands on hips, and turns around. It takes every ounce of willpower for him to not go back. He takes off his shirt, pulls off his boots, pants, and dives into the water. It is nice and cool, but not nearly cold enough to cool him down. He spends the next half hour in the lake trying to calm down thinking of his own hellish past and the path to redemption if there's even a way for him. His thoughts always drift back to Charlotte and those eyes. Those lips.

Charlie's tingly. She pulls her clothes on over her damp body. She hears the splash on the other side of the lake. She hears him swimming, but cannot see him. She sits down next to the fire and listens to him swim over the next hour imagining his body as he walks out of the water. She lets the fire die then walks back to the house sexually frustrated more so than she has ever been in her life.

She spends the next three hours restlessly tossing and turning before she finally falls asleep then the dreams begin. His body nude and hard and wet walking out of the water towards her. His lips are on hers; open mouth hot, wet, and overpowering. His hands calloused moving over her body, on her arms, her breasts, her stomach, and lower as his mouth devours her. She's awake in bed breathless, sweating, and aching with a need she's never felt and cursing and wanting Monroe with a passion.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day she's sitting with Miles, Rachel, Aaron, and Monroe at the breakfast table continuing to make plans against the Patriots. She can't concentrate and she is bitchy. The only thing she can focus on is him. It is like he purposely puts himself in her sight. At one point she is staring at Monroe's lips and hadn't realized that Miles is trying to get her attention. After the third attempt, she looks into Monroe's eyes and he has the gall to wink at her.

"What?!" She barks at Miles.

Miles grins. "Are you alright? You've been somewhat...tense lately."

She glances back at Monroe. The bastard is smirking at her. "I'm fine." She gets up and walks off. She goes to the training area and grabs some swords and a willing body to beat on, which she spends the next hour doing.

Bass watches her from deep in the shadows. She's stripped her jacket and tied her hair back. She's drenched in sweat. Her clothes cling to every inch of her lovely curves. Her arms are strong from repeated practice. Her body tanned from the prolonged outdoor exposure to the sun. Her legs are solid and long in black pants tight that reveal a very nice backside. Boots of the same color encase her muscular calves.

Charlotte's strength isn't in the way she fights. Although, she is one of the best fighters he has ever seen for someone so young and so...female. Miles has taught her well and she has his uncanny ability to read opponent's moves beforehand. That same ability that makes him and Miles such good partners.

Charlotte's strength is in the way she carries herself, her courage, and brains. She has her mother's beauty, tenacity, and intelligence combined with the Matheson strength and courage. She is a fierce female, headstrong, passionate, and a stunning one at that. She fights off the soldier who is a foot taller and at least a hundred pounds heavier, but he doesn't have her smarts. He is dog meat at the hands of Charlotte.

She is stubborn as hell too and she's trying to seduce him. He feels the beginnings of an erection simply thinking about those strong legs wrapped around him as he's pumping into her and imagining her coming apart beneath him. Bass looks down and laughs at the irony of this situation. He quickly pushes it out of his mind glancing around for Miles who has only just walked up standing beside him.

"She's good."

"Of course she is. I trained her. " He pushes off the wall striding up to her. "Alright, kid. Time for some real practice. Get lost, Moose. It's my turn to kick her ass."

Bass comes out of the shadows to get closer to the action as Charlotte and Miles swordplay, both exquisite in their movements, has his total attention. Charlotte only makes one mistake and Miles corrects her. She is an eager pupil. An accomplished one and Miles has always been an excellent teacher.

Charlotte's eyes meet his only once and it seems to empower her and with a wicked grin at him, she fights on. She makes one other sloppy mistake and Miles yells at her.

"Come on, Bass. It's your turn. Show the kid what you've got." Looking at Charlie he warns "don't kill him." He winks at her and walks to the side.

Bass looks at her. Charlotte simply stands there looking at him waiting. She actually starts smirking then a full on sinful smile. The little chit is laughing at him daring him her eyes taunting him. Is there nothing she will not do? No one she won't fight? She'd tangle with the devil himself if he stood in front of her. God, that kind of fire turned him on. She is a female Miles.

She smiles and lowers her voice. "It appears I'm going to dance with the devil after all." He can't help from laughing out loud.

He shrugs off his jacket and picks up the swords. The next twenty minutes they go toe to toe, power to power, and it is one of the most intoxicating fights of his life. Whoever thought swordplay could feel like sex. He could have taken her a few times, but lets her slide. By the end, they are both breathless and aroused pressed up against each other swords crossed. They are both so incredibly turned on would it not be for Miles looking on, Bass would drop her to the floor and have his way with her right here. Looking into her eyes, he knows he's lost. He pushes her away. She stumbles back with that shameless wide grin. She knows. He grins. She laughs. He's bewitched.

Miles did not miss the exchange between them. Frowning he throws a towel at Charlie. "Take a break, kid." He looks at Bass. "Can I talk to you?" He walks around the building out of site from everyone waiting till Bass catches up with him. Bass takes it slow trying to get his emotions and body under control. "What are you doing, Bass?"

Bass doesn't move and keeps his face expressionless. Miles isn't stupid and they know each other better than anyone else. They are practically brothers. Miles knows what's happening between him and Charlotte because Miles knows him probably better than he knows Charlotte. "Nothing. I'm doing nothing, Miles."

Miles gets in his face. "Keep it that way." He walks off.

Bass sighs in disappointment. He has only just started to repair and reconnect with Miles again. He couldn't have this attraction and thing with Charlotte getting between them. Rachel's hostility was even ebbing. If he starts screwing her daughter, Miles' niece, they would probably slit his throat in his sleep regardless who had seduced whom. He has to control himself. God, she makes it so hard.

He walks back into the training area. Charlotte's eyes immediately on him as she sits near the sidelines. He walks right up to her, pats her on the head indifferently, and says "nice job, kid" and dismisses her walking off. He hopes it will deter her, but knowing her, it will only make her more determined.

He avoids her the rest of the day, but she's never far from his mind. He hears a shouting match between her and Rachel. Things ever so tenuous between the mother and daughter both so independent and so stubborn. They have been butting heads ever since Charlotte brought him back with her and reunited them all. They were either chillingly nice to each other or shouting mad. Either way there is a rather large hole in their relationship and it just isn't about him.

That night, Charlotte isn't at the lake. At least, he thinks she isn't. As he makes his way out of the lake towards the fire and his clothes, he sees her simply sitting there waiting for him. Her eyes are glued on him roaming his body up and down devouring him with her eyes brazenly so. He is casual not the least bit concerned about his nudity or her blatant lusty stare. If she wants to play, he'll play.

He walks right up standing over her keeping his body in check. He reaches down for his jeans pulling them on slowly over his still wet body. He zips up, but purposely leaves them unbuttoned hanging around his hips. He pulls on his shirt not buttoning it either all the while looking down into her eyes and never leaving them. He moves to sit across the fire from her trying not to appear as bothered as he is by her penetrating stare from those endless pools of baby blues. He is aggravated with himself. One glimpse of her and he forgets he's supposed to be avoiding her.

He grabs a bottle of whiskey out of his pack and takes a drink. The alcohol burns a nice path down his throat. He looks at her. She's still staring at him. Neither of them says a word. There had been these types of nights on their way back to Miles and Rachel minus the intense lust emanating from the both of them. Attraction, yes; intense lust? Not quite. These comfortable silences. Both pondering their fates. Both brooding over their pasts and the future. He is deliberately trying to dodge the dangerous situation of lust.

She has a way of getting him to open up by simply staring at him. It has happened many times. It unnerves him. Flusters him. This is his way of warning her off of him. He's damaged goods and she deserves so much better.

"A darkness lives in all of us, Charlotte." He pauses. "There is a place you go to hide. To hide your vulnerability. Your insecurities. To feel safe. Eventually this darkness is our comfort. Our safety." He takes another long drink from the bottle continuing to look into the fire. "Because to open ourselves up to that kind of vulnerability again...that kind of hurt and pain…" His voice wavers with emotion. "When there is no one to lead you back to the light, you will always get lost in the dark. Alone." He takes his eyes from the fire and looks at her. "Don't ever get lost in that darkness, Charlotte."

Usually, he would try and deflect from anything personal he had revealed to her by making some inane useless comment. This time he simply takes another long drink and stares into the fire silent.

He glances at her after a time. She's not said a word. Her face is soft. Her eyes appraising him with what appears to be, for the first time, compassion and understanding. She inches closer to him sitting beside him and takes the bottle from him taking a long drink from it. They sit in quiet splitting the rest of the bottle staring into the fire. Before long Charlotte's head falls onto his shoulder asleep or passed out. He tilts her head up. God, she is beautiful. She mumbles something unintelligibly. Her eyes open barely and she smiles sleepily at him. "Bass," she sighs then goes back to sleep and he knows he has lost his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie finds herself curled up in the hammock on the porch with a blanket around her the next morning. Miles is standing over her, drinking coffee, and looking at her with an amused expression. "Late night?"

She sits up grabbing her head. "Owww," she says softly.

Miles shows her some compassion and hands her his coffee. She takes a big gulp scalding the inside of her mouth. "Easy. I'm heading to do some training. I expect you will want to take the day off," he chuckles.

"Shut up," she grumbles at him and he laughs out loud as he walks away.

Charlie doesn't see Bass the entire day. He is avoiding her. By nightfall, she figures where he is and heads towards the local pub. He's in a corner with a blonde bimbo on his lap and the whore is all over him. She appears to be drunk and laughing enjoying the attention. What little he gives her. She doesn't have his complete attention because his eyes are on Charlie's as soon as she steps into the room.

Charlie brazenly walks right up to him. She throws down a bag of diamonds she had won earlier. "Wanna play?" She motions to the pool table.

The blonde whore looks at Charlie lips curled in disgust like she's a nasty bug. "Michael, you don't know this child, do you?" She asks in the most patronizing tone. Michael is Bass' alias while in town.

Charlie looks the woman up and down. "Of course he does," she says looking Bass directly in the eyes smiling with her crooked sinful grin. She looks back at the whore suggestively leaning down into the woman's personal space hands on either side of their chair giving both of them an ample view of her cleavage. "He knows me quite intimately, love. Perhaps you could join us some time?" She runs a finger along the low bodice of the bimbo's dress where her breasts are practically spilling out. Charlie then takes that same finger, sticks it in the woman's whiskey, and runs it across her own lips licking her finger and sucking on it alluringly then looks at Bass and winks at him.

The woman leans back shocked and disgusted. Bass is smiling torn between groaning and laughing. She's going to kill him.

The whore scoffs then regains her patronizing manner. "Don't play with the child, Michael." She moves closer to him putting her arm around his neck grinding her hip into his while running her fingers through his hair.

Monroe keeps his composure and tries not to push the woman off his lap into the floor for grinding him. He keeps his patience and continues with the act. "She's just a kid, lovely. Let her be," he says grabbing her chin and lightly brushing his lips over her bright red ones while not breaking eye contact with Charlotte. That did it. He sees the hurt and anger flash in her eyes briefly. She recovers quickly. Challenge ensued.

Charlie pulls her shoulders back, smiles seductively, and says "Fine. I'll have to find someone else to play with," she purrs already making her way to the bar and a group of men. "Who is going to buy me a drink?" She says loudly to the entire room.

Bass groans inwardly. He should have known. To Charlotte a challenge had been issued and accepted. She is determined to play and win. The men are falling all over each other to buy her a drink and ogle her and for the next two hours. He has to watch her drink and flirt with every man in that bar. A couple of them even have the nerve to put his hands on her, which she playfully laughs at and bats away. Her tries to curb the fierce streak of possessiveness and jealousy that goes through him.

Bass plays the game as well. He has two or three different women that he's with drinking and hanging all over. He's playing like he's drunk, but he isn't. He keeps one eye on Charlotte at all times because she's playing a risky game with a bunch of drunk dangerous horny men.

He takes his eyes off of her for one minute and she's gone. He excuses himself from the 'ladies' and makes his way towards the back of the pub. Just as he thought, one of the guys has her pinned against the wall groping and trying to kiss her. She's pushing him away more disgusted and annoyed than scared. The guy doesn't give up and keeps trying totally oblivious to anything other than getting into her pants.

He crosses his arms and leans against the corner of the doorway observing them with a smirk uncomfortable still with the jealousy that continues to fuel is ire trying to refrain from ripping the dick away from her and snapping his neck. "Need some help, Charlotte?"

Charlie looks at Bass annoyed pushing the inebriated asshole off of her as much as she could. The guy is determined and will not give up. "No, I'm having a lovely time. Can't you tell?" She says sarcastically. She pulls a knife from her boot and pushes it into his gut enough to draw blood, but not do any permanent damage. "Back off, asshole. I'm no longer interested."

The guy takes a small step back hands up. Bass tenses sensing he's going to strike and sure enough, he swings a fist at Charlie catching her on the cheek, which she isn't fast enough to dodge with half the pub in her. Her head snaps back and Bass sees red. He has the man around the neck getting ready to snap his neck when Charlotte yells "stop!" He stops looking at her realizing that he's about to kill the man. He punches the dick then puts him in a chokehold till he passes out. He drops him on the floor not so delicately then kicks him in the face: once, twice, three times. Killing him would have drawn unwelcome attention.

Bass grabs her arm pulling her roughly out the back way into the empty dark alley. "You are determined to get yourself killed, aren't you?"

She jerks her arm away touching her cheek gently grimacing in pain feeling a little woozy from too much alcohol. "What do you care?"

"What were you thinking?" He takes her by the arms shaking her.

She smacks him across the face. The loud crack echoes through the alley. "I was having just as much fun as you were, asshole."

"I told you to watch that mouth, didn't I?" He pushes her up against the stone wall of the pub and his mouth is on hers before she knows what is happening. It's a hard and ruthless assault against her lips in attempt to pry her mouth open. She forces it shut and pushes against him trying to shove him off of her. She's pissed.

Bass pulls back and looks at her. Her face is flushed. Her lips swollen. Her eyes bright with fury. Her cheek is quickly developing a large purple bruise. He winces with regret. He saves her from that asshole only to be brutalized by his own hands. He gently touches the bruise then moves to push her hair away from her face behind her ear. His finger moves gently along her jaw, under her chin tilting her head back further. His other hand comes up to softly caress her face. "I'm sorry I didn't stop him from hitting you," he says tenderly. His hand cupping her face his thumb brushed along her lower lip. He presses a light kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry, Charlotte," he murmurs onto her forehead. He pulls back looking into her eyes.

His lips are soft. Her mouth parts slightly looking deep into his eyes. She sees sincerity, concern, and regret, which melts most of her anger. He continues to confound her. Her face moves towards his slowly gradually putting her lips on his. He doesn't move watching her intensely. Her eyes remain open staring into his as she continues exploring his lips softly. Lightly. She playfully bites into his lower lip gently pulling it and letting it go. When her tongue comes out tasting him, he loses all control and devours her with his mouth both of them sighing into the kiss.

This is a dream. She is sure of it. This couldn't possibly be happening. His mouth is hot, wet, and delicious. His hands on either side of her face not gentle, but not forceful. His body moves into hers. Chest to breasts. Hip to hip. Every inch touching. His tongue finds his way into her mouth consuming her. Tasting her. When she tries to put her tongue into his mouth, he grips her face tighter sucking on her tongue and she lets out a whimper pushing her hands into his hair pulling him farther down and into her mouth.

Bass can't think. Her scent. Her taste is consuming him. He runs his hands down her body pushing up her shirt and finding skin. He reaches down and picks her up pushing her against the wall. Grabbing one of her legs, he pulls it up to wrap around his hip pushing between hers grinding into her all the while continuing to devour her with his mouth. He groans into her mouth when her hips start to roll into his pushing hard on him. He grips her hips and rolls faster. Harder.

Charlie feels it happening and flies with it eagerly. Her hands find their way under his shirt to his hot sweaty skin gripping his back nails sliding down underneath his pants cupping him pulling him hard into her. She pulsates breathlessly whispering his name in a sigh her eyes barely parted looking at him as her world shatters and all thought leaves her head except the most intense pleasure she has ever felt.

Bass pulls back from her slightly watching her face in the throes of her orgasm continuing to grind into her. He comes hard when she sighs his name in what is undeniably one of the most erotic experiences of both their lives. The pent up violent polarized emotions: hate, revenge, lust, attraction, and adrenaline spiked situations had culminated. His forehead falls onto hers both of them panting sweating. "Christ," he murmurs stunned and out of breath. She rubs his face with hers like a cat rubbing up against her owner while purring in ecstasy. Bass finds it sexy as hell and endearing. And just like that, reality sets in.

"Goddammit," he says pulling back looking at her. He curses again louder, sets her down, and pushes himself away from her gently. He runs his hand roughly through his hair and over his face in frustration. He looks at her long and hard hands on his hips not saying a word concern and agitation on his face. "Come on. I'll walk you home," he says to her delicately angry with his inability to control himself around her.

They walk in silence back to the house. He walks her to the door then turns and leaves without saying a word to her. She closes the door and falls back against it sliding down sitting onto the floor wondering what could possibly happen next. She grins knowing Bass had been angry at himself for losing control with her. The only thing she can think of until she falls asleep an hour later a big smile on her face is if that's what it's like with him with all of their clothes on, she wonders how earth shattering it will be when she gets him out of his clothes. She sighs, a long languid one, into the empty room feeling better than she has felt in a long, long time.


	4. Chapter 4

Miles and her mom are getting closer. They have yet to tell her their backstory, but figures it will come out eventually. She doesn't pry. Everyone has their secrets. She smiles. Just like she does. She figures she will cut them a break. They will tell her when they want to. She likes that Miles looks out for her mom and she would catch him watching her and the man's emotions were written all over his face. He was good at hiding it when someone was looking especially her mom, but when no one was looking, the love and devotion was there. Of what she remembered of her mom and dad together, her dad had never looked at her mom like Miles looks at her. It is clear that Miles worships the woman and Charlie finds it darling.

"Why are you smiling so big and what happened to your face?" Miles pulls her face up looking at the bruise on her cheek.

"Charlie, what happened?" Mom asks coming around to stand next to Miles.

"Some guy at the pub got kind of frisky."

"I hope you snapped his neck like a twig," Miles tells her chuckling.

Charlie laughs. "No, but Bass almost did before I stopped him."

Miles and her mom look at each other then back at her. "Bass?" They both ask together worry on their faces.

She laughs. "Relax. Monroe didn't kill him. He did give the guy some aches and pains he won't soon forget." She blushes remembering some of her own aches and pains from their little tryst in the alleyway.

"Good. What?" Miles snaps questioning her noticing her blush. "What did he do?" He growls.

"What? Nothing. Let's go train. I have a lot of energy today," she smiles so big her dimples hurt.

Miles and Rachel watch her walk away then look at each other. "He wouldn't?" Rachel asks Miles knowing damn well Bass would. He had always been a womanizer.

"He will not or I'll kill him," he says bringing her hand to his lips and lightly brushing her knuckles with a kiss. She smiles. "Are you blushing now too?" He asks grinning at her.

Charlie watches their little exchange while waiting for Miles on the porch. She chuckles. They are so cute together.

Miles makes his way towards her and she makes like she hasn't seen a thing.

"What?" He snaps. "Your good mood is annoying."

Charlie looks at him and smiles. "You have my blessing."

Miles smiles and laughs his eyes shifting. "What?"

She puts her arm through his and they make their way to the training area. "I'm just saying."

"What's with you calling Bass...Bass?" Miles asks her changing the subject.

"That's his name, isn't it?"

"Yes, smart ass, but he has always been Monroe to you." He stops and turns her towards him. "Is there something you wanna tell me, Charlie?"

"Um, no. Why?"

"Listen, I shouldn't have to tell you this, but Bass...he's...well, besides his usual psychotic and manic tendencies, he's a womanizer. A very well known one and the worse kind."

"Worse than you?" Charlie grins laughing at his obvious discomfort. "You're not going to start telling me about the birds and the bees are you because I've not been a virgin for…"

He puts his hands up. "Stop! Too much information."

Charlie laughs pulling his hands down. "Miles, trust me. I'm a big girl."

He puts his hands on her arms out of concern. "I know you are and I know you're stubborn as hell and regardless of me telling you not to put your hand in the fire because it'll burn you, you're going to do it anyway. Bass has a lot of baggage...huge amounts of it. Then there is the fact that he's old enough to be your father. Christ, Charlie! What are you thinking of doing? He hasn't done anything to you, has he?"

She laughs. "Nothing I cannot handle." Miles starts to protest and Charlie puts up a hand. "I want you to tell me about his baggage, Miles, and Miles," she pauses. "You and mom will absolutely not interfere. Do you understand me?"

"No! And I will interfere because I know him and if Bass so much as…"

"If I so much as what?" Bass says walking up to them.

They both look at him then look back at each other. Charlie gives Miles a warning look.

"You and me. Train. Now," Miles barks at Bass walking past him towards their training area bumping hard into his shoulder.

Bass looks at Charlie. "Hi," she says smiling at him with that crooked smile of hers. Her cheek is purple from the bruise, but it's her eyes that catch his attention. They are warm. Soft. Inviting. It makes his heart flutter. He turns abruptly saying nothing and follows Miles disturbed and wondering what the hell is wrong with him. He's feeling like a lovesick teenager around her and it's pissing him off.

Charlie watches for the next hour as Miles tries to literally kill Bass training and Bass is giving as good as he gets both allowing the emotions from the last few years to pour out of them in a merciless underhanded fight. Neither of them playing by the rules wondering if they ever had rules. She finally has it when Miles trips him underhandedly and goes in for the kill.

"Stop!" She yells. They both immediately stop looking at her breathing heavily sweat pouring off of them.

Charlie looks at Miles pleadingly and irate.

Miles cocks his head and turns to help Bass up from the ground. He pulls him close. "You hurt her and I'll tear your heart out and stuff it down your goddamn throat," he says smiling looking back at Charlie then at Bass. "Do you understand me?"

"Miles, I'm not gonna touch her." He's already lying no matter how sincere he is and he's sure the guilt is written plainly on his face.

Miles looks at him and laughs. Bass being all genuine and the contrition on his face..."sure you won't. Just don't hurt her, Bass or I won't use a gun. I'll gut you and leave you in the sun to slowly rot and die."

Bass takes a long look at him then turns and walks off. She doesn't see him for the next three days.

* * *

Charlie finds Miles on night three in the pub drinking.

"Hi, kid. What's up?" He's drunk.

"You and mom fight?"

He laughs. "Your mom is kinda pissed at me right now."

"Why don't you just tell her, Miles?"

Miles looks at her. "Tell her what?"

"That you love her."

Miles sits his drink down and turns towards her. "What?"

"Listen, I dunno what your backstory is with mom. I'm not sure I wanna know, but we are here now and this world is chaos. We live day to day, minute to minute, not knowing if we'll survive to see the next. You should grab happiness when you can."

"Easier said than done." He swallows the last of his drink and gets off the stool. He motions with his head towards the back of the room. She follows his eyes and there is Bass with his harem of whores again drunk playing pool with a bunch of strangers. "Bass is going to be hating life tomorrow. He's been drinking like a fish for the past three hours."

Suddenly the guy he's playing, well over a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, slams his stick down. "What did you call me?"

Bass laughs and repeats it slowly into his face throwing back the last of his drink wobbling on his feet. The man delights in being perverse and dancing on thin ice.

"Ok, well, it looks like it's time to pull him out of here," Miles says heading towards him. Charlie moves in behind him.

"Bass, buddy, I told you to leave this nice gentleman alone," Miles says coming up to him and pulling the pool stick out of his hand and laying it on the table.

Bass looks at Miles. "Hey, buddy." He throws an arm around Miles looking back over the irate man and his drinking buddies. "This man is one of the best men t'ever walk this earth." Bass pats Miles on the chest smiling. "I love you, man," and Bass throws his arms around him hugging him.

"Allright. OK. That's enough. Let's get you out of here, buddy" Miles says patting him on the back.

Bass notices Charlotte over Miles' shoulder their eyes meeting. His smile dies. An overwhelming surge of white hot lust goes through him and an intense need to connect to her emotionally. Intimately. "Charlotte," Bass croaks. She's smiling her crooked smile. The one that makes him want to suck on her lips and tongue and body.

"Hi, Bass. I see you're making friends...again," Charlotte says mischief in her eyes.

Bass can't help it. He doesn't care if Miles is standing right there. He stumbles towards her bringing his arms around her neck putting his mouth near her ear. "I want to be your _friend_," he whispers pressing his body up against hers his hands running down her back. He pulls back a big smile on his face lust in his eyes grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers through hers.

She laughs and blushes and tries to pull away before Miles sees it. "You're drunk," she says laughing at him trying to calm her accelerating heart and the deluge of heat.

"And you're beautiful," he says bringing her hand up to his kissing the inside of her wrist a bit wobbly on his feet. God, the man is wickedly charming when he wants to be.

Miles had been settling up Bass' game with the man he'd insulted. He turns around and pulls Bass' hand away from Charlie unlacing their hands and placing it around Miles' shoulder supporting him before he falls on his face.

"Charlie, get the other side," Miles grunts under Bass' weight not so strong on his feet himself.

Bass grins wide at her and places his arm around Charlotte's shoulders interlacing his fingers again in her other hand as they make their way out of the pub the back way and right passed where he and her had their little 'moment' the other night. "Remember this, Charlotte?" he whispers in her ear. She blushes again. He loves seeing her blush.

"You are a bad man," she says under her breath smiling.

Bass loses some of his happiness. His smile fades. "Yes, I am." He is silent for a few minutes then turns to Miles. "I'm sorry, Miles."

Miles almost stumbles. "You're just full of love and apologies tonight."

Bass stops them turning toward Miles dragging Charlotte around with him. "I am, buddy. I love you like a brother and I never meant to hurt you or your family. You're my family, brother. My best friend. I could never hurt you." They look at each other. Miles nods.

"Let's go."

Charlie squeezes Bass' hand as a small sign of support. She knows that wasn't easy coming from him. She could hear the torment in his voice regardless if it was alcohol induced and she knew Miles could see it in his eyes. He is gone though. Passed out his head rolling around and ultimately landing on Miles' shoulder since he's carrying most of the weight.

Miles and Charlie carry Bass back to the small little abandoned house he was occupying and put him in his bed. He mumbles her name and he won't let go of her hand until she pulls them apart with her other hand. Miles' eyes her not saying a word.

"So this is where he's been staying," Charlie mumbles. "This place is a sty." Charlie pulls off his boots so he is at least a little comfortable.

Miles looks around. "Yeah, well, we've stayed in worse. Let's go." He heads to the door.

Charlie takes one last look at Bass sleeping. He looks so much more at peace.

Miles looks back. "You coming?"

They walk to their home base in silence. Rachel and Aaron already asleep. Charlie has no interest in sleeping yet and sits on the deck swinging in the hammock looking at the stars. Miles comes back out and hands her a drink sitting down in one of the chairs.

"You are as headstrong and stubborn as your mom, kid."

Charlie looks at him. He's looking at the clear star-filled sky.

"Before the blackout, they were always talking about climate change and carbon dioxide levels rising to their highest in recorded human history. I bet the last fifteen years have done some much needed repairs because honestly…" he pauses "the skies at night get clearer and prettier." He shrugs. "But what would I know."

He takes a long drink. "You're on a path, Charlie. I see where you're going and I wanna stop you, but I cannot so the only thing I can do is give you some information and be here for you when you need me." He looks at her. "This information isn't going to paint me in a good light, but then again, this really isn't about me."

Charlie looks at him and gives a small nod. He tells her about Bass. About his family that died in a car wreck. The night Miles found him with a gun ready to kill himself in front of their graves. He told her about the militia and why they started it. "We are soldiers. It is our job to help people from those that would do them harm. It wasn't for power or ego. This all started because we wanted to help those that couldn't help themselves. To protect them."

He tells her about the many, many times Bass had called him on things they were doing to survive post blackout. Moral things. Ethical things. She is shocked to learn that Bass had been somewhat of their moral compass. At least until he lost his girlfriend and their child.

Charlie takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. An ache of deep grief squeezes her heart remembering how she felt when her dad and Danny died. She feels empathy for him and a surge of sorrow and compassion.

"I've never seen someone with that much pain and survival guilt. It destroyed him. Along with everything else that had happened. It ate at him till he was raw and consumed with it. I tried to help him. I had my own baggage. I couldn't hardly help myself combined with everything happening around us. He became like this dark pit and then he did something..." Miles stops taking a drink appearing to try and regain some of his composure. "Killing him was a self-preservation move, but I realized when I aimed the gun at him there was no way I could do it."

"What did he do?" Charlie asks.

"He killed your mom," his voice breaks. "Well, I thought he did." He clears his throat pausing. "Be careful, Charlie. Some things love cannot fix no matter how hard you try." And without another word he leaves the deck and goes back into the house.

Charlie saw the agony in Miles' face before he left. She swipes a tear that makes a path down the side of her face. She takes a deep long breath. So much misery surrounding them and pain eating them from the inside out. She's determined for all of them to find some happiness even if it's only here and there.

Unbeknownst to both Miles and Charlie, Rachel stood listening to them behind the door. She watched Miles leave Charlie on the porch and head to his room unaware that she was nearby watching him. He was in pain. She could hear it in his voice and see it on his face. This was the first time she'd heard the story and something told her, she hadn't quite heard every last bit of it. She follows him up five minutes later. She knocks lightly then enters closing the door behind her leaning against it.

Miles had taken off his shirt and had unbuttoned his pants getting ready for bed. Rachel tries not to stare at his jeans hanging around his hips. His body has always exuded strength and been one of her weaknesses.

"What, Rachel?" He asks her not quite looking at her hands on his hips.

She goes up to him and kisses him lightly on the lips. He looks at her with so much emotion in his eyes, but hesitant. She smiles at him and puts her hands around his face pulling it to hers. The kiss starts out slowly, but gets deeper and before long they are pawing at each other removing clothes.

"I've missed you so much," Miles says in a hoarse whisper. He spends the rest of the night making it up to her.


	5. Chapter 5

Charlie makes her way the next morning with supplies to Bass' little house. She enters silently and goes into his room to check on him. He is awake, but pretending like he's asleep. He removed his clothes sometime during the night so he's barechested on his back the sheet riding low around his hips barely covering him. Charlie watches him. His breathing is even and his face is not as peaceful as it was last night. She can tell he's awake simply by looking at the way his lips are taut. She refrains from committing any acts of seduction or naughtiness and leaves him, but not before taking one last glance over him.

Bass knows exactly when someone enters the house. Tense poised to attack, the air changes and he knows it's her. Her scent. Lately it's vanilla, but she also has a specific scent that orders his libido into overdrive. She must ooze some type of pheromones that make him crazy. He doesn't move pretending sleep and waits to see what she does. In the back of his mind, he's running all kinds of scenarios from murdering him to seducing him all making his morning erection even more uncomfortable. He curbs the urge to reach and unshackle realizing the potential situation she has once again put herself in with him. Attraction. Seduction. Lust. He tries to focus on his pounding head instead of his throbbing erection.

She stands over him for a few minutes then goes back into the other room. He hears her moving around and doing something. What, he has no clue. His head hurts and he needs coffee and some food. He lays there for another hour thinking and listening to her in the other room. He runs a hand over his face trying to make his pounding headache go away.

He remembers what he said to Miles last night and he remembers flirting with Charlotte in front of Miles. After three days of swearing that he would stay away from her and three days of torture at not being able to see her. To smell her. To touch her. To taste her...he had gotten drunk, again, and the first time he saw her, he gave into his attraction and deep seated need for her right in front of Miles, the one person he didn't want to fail. He had made a promise, dammit.

He set up grabbing his head in his hands. He pulls on some pants and a shirt not buttoning it and opens the door. The smell of food hits him and...cleaning? He looks around. The place is totally different. It's clean and neat and smells one hundred times better.

Charlie is in the small kitchen leaning on the counter with her chin in her hand drinking coffee just looking at him. She pushes a plate and a cup across the counter towards him.

"Here," she says simply.

He looks around again and back at her. He walks over sitting on a stool at the counter across from her and notices the aspirin laying next to the coffee. He swallows them down with the coffee. He puts his head in his hands and tries not to look at her and the fact that she's leaning down giving him a clear view of the swell of her breasts in the tank she's wearing. He's trying to compose himself before locking eyes with her again.

She is being kind to him. Charlotte, the person who had sworn to hate him and kill him for the deaths of her dad and brother, is being kind to him. She cleaned and made him breakfast and coffee. It was a bit overwhelming especially in his hangover induced state. First she tried to seduce him; now she's being kind. The ache in his chest feels like someone is squeezing his heart. She is and her name is Charlotte Matheson.

Bass attacks the food and looks at her. She's drinking a cup of coffee chin in hand with the same expression continuing to look at him. Her eyes give him no clue as to what she's thinking. He puts on his best crooked charming smile. "Thank you," he says simply continuing to eat staring at her smiling.

She smiles and laughs. "Wow. A thank you from Sebastian Monroe. I'm shocked."

He laughs. God, she has the best smile and laugh. It's contagious. He could look into her eyes all day. Every day. The rest of his life.

"You're welcome," she says her heart skipping a beat from that smile and those blue eyes. He has a bad case of bedhead. His curly hair sticking up all over the place, but it's darling. He's potent regardless of his curly bedhead. She's constantly confounded by the man. "Do I dare," she says smiling.

Bass is trying to concentrate on something other than her lips and her breasts. "What?"

"'Do I dare disturb the universe?'" She exhales chin in hand looking at him her gaze hot.

Bass finishes eating, puts his fork down, and pushes his empty plate away. "'In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.'" He puts his chin in his hand mimicking her continuing with his crooked smile looking at her. Her eyes wide. "Do you know what it means, Charlotte? The entire poem?"

"Yes," her voice comes out breathless. They stare at each other a few minutes. "I had you pegged as a cynic."

He chuckles. "A cynic cannot read poetry? Eliot wasn't a cynic?" He put his arms on the table pushing himself up. "You know what they say about cynics?"

"No, what?"

"They're passionately frustrated romantics," his smile is big.

She laughs out loud standing up. "You confound me, Bass. Continually."

He comes around the counter towards her and her breath catches. He grabs her hand bringing it to his mouth lightly kissing her knuckles. "Thank you, Charlotte for last night, for cleaning, the aspirin, the food, the coffee…"

Miles bangs in through the side door.

"Guys, we've got trouble. Patriots headed our way." Charlie and Bass look at him then jump into action.

"Where's mom and Aaron?" Charlie asks. Bass is already buttoning his shirt, putting on some boots, grabbing his swords, and the rest of his gear.

"They're at the house. Relax. I don't think we need to run yet. We simply need to get some more information."

"I'll work on it," and he left not saying another word.

Charlie looks at Miles. "What does that mean?"

Miles shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine."

They go after him, but he's already gone so they head back to the house. Waiting.


	6. Chapter 6

Bass shows up hours later. "They aren't here for us. They're on patrol. Making rounds."

None of them have anything different than what Bass had. They decide to hit the pub later that night to see if they can get more information.

Hours later, they are in the bar. Rachel and Miles at a table to the right and Bass and Charlie in the back at the bar. Aaron is at the bar closer to the front.

There had been some discussion about Charlie and Bass together from Rachel, but Miles assures her that Bass would look out for her along with Charlie telling them she could damn well look after herself. Rachel looks dubious, but she recalls Bass' promise to her in the tower to keep Charlie safe and all the other times he's saved her life.

"She'll be safe with me, Rachel. I'll protect her with my life." They are all somewhat taken aback by his vehemence of that statement, but Bass never does anything half assed.

Bass grabs her hand pushing her to the back of the bar closest to the door to the alley entrance and away from Miles, Rachel, and Aaron. He puts his arm around her and pulls her close smiling down at her ordering drinks from the bartender. "What?" He asks.

"What's with the act?" Charlie is thrown not knowing his game. He motions towards the other side with his head and there are a few of the whores from the previous nights that liked to drape themselves all over him. Apparently, they wanted more of him and he was trying to dissuade them by latching onto her. She looks back at him smiling with a gleam in her eye.

He laughs out loud. "Uh oh. You have that look."

"What look?"

"The 'I aim to misbehave' look."

She pushes his back against the bar, kicks his feet apart, and pushes herself between his legs placing her hands on the bar under his arms on either side of him trapping him. She pushes her hips into him leaning into his face. He groans looking to see if Miles and Rachel can see them. No, which was a good thing. "You little imp," he grits out smiling. "You'll pay for that."

"Humph. 'Do I dare'," she says mocking him. He laughs.

The bartender hands him their drinks. "Here you go, Mr…" Bass looks at him. "Mr. Prufrock." He hands her a drink a big smile plastered across his face.

Charlie laughs, downs the drink in one gulp and orders another. She has a feeling she'll be needing it.

"Whoah, Charlotte. Not too much or I'll be bringing you coffee and aspirin in the morning."

"And making me breakfast," she says it before thinking. She feels herself turn red. His drink pauses halfway to his mouth. His eyes dilate. His nostrils flare. He smiles. Big.

Charlie blushes. He laughs. He leans over to her ear. "You're beautiful when you blush."

That's the second time he has called her beautiful. It wasn't getting old. She likes it.

He suddenly grabs her hair fisting it pulling her closer and starts kissing her along her jaw towards her ear where he whispers "Patriots". He spends the next several minutes assaulting her jaw with his lips pulling her into him while watching the patriots.

Charlie can't think. The onslaught to her jaw and ear is muddling her thinking. When he grabs her hip and pulls her forward hip to hip, she holds back a moan.

They spend the next fifteen minutes like that. He occasionally pulls her back, looks into her eyes, and gives her one of those smiles that has her feeling those damn butterflies then he starts in on her jaw or neck again. After 25 minutes he abruptly releases her and moves to her side. She looks up and there is Miles coming back to them.

"We gotta leave and fast. I want you to take Charlie and meet us at the rendezvous in five days."

Bass and Charlie look at each other confused then back at Miles. "What?" They both say at the same time.

"Just do it and Bass," he pauses looking stern. "You take care of her. You promise me?"

"I promise," Bass says firmly without hesitation.

Miles walks back towards the front.

Bass pulls Charlie out the back. They make their way to pick up Charlie's pack then went to the little house Bass occupies.

"It's too bad I won't get to enjoy your kindness."

After 'acquiring' some horses, they make their way out of town west. About three and a half hours, it starts pouring down the rain and with a chill in the air it makes the ride miserable. They search for some place dry to crash for the night. Forty-five minutes later they find an enormous abandoned barn. The house beside it has a caved in roof so the barn it is. They put the horses away making them comfortable and gather some wood to make a fire. Since everything is wet, they tear some pieces off inside the barn and use them to light a fire.

They are both soaked. Charlotte can't stop shivering. Bass searches the barn and finds some old blankets. He throws one at her.

"Take your clothes off." He starts taking his clothes off and laying them over a rail near their fire.

Charlie admires his nude body before he wraps up in the blanket and sits near the fire.

"Charlotte, you need to take off your wet clothes." He looks at her indifferently and dismisses her casually like she is one of his soldiers. It irks her.

She stands and starts slowly removing her clothes looking right at him. He isn't looking at her. This bothers her, but she's too tired to care so she turns and ignores him. She peels off her jacket. Pulls off her boots. It's then she remembers she's without undergarments. Well, this should be interesting.

She gets rid of her pants tugging them off one leg at a time and takes her time placing them on the rail, her back to him. She then pulls off her shirt then shakes out her wet hair. She doesn't bother looking to see if he's watching her. She turns and sure enough, he's looking. She wraps the blanket around her nude body and sits across the fire from him trying to appear as detached and impersonal as he had been earlier. He definitely isn't now.

Bass tried not to watch her. He really had, but control is something he seems to lose where Charlotte's concerned. By the time she shook out her hair, he was rock hard. She then took forever wrapping the blanket around her very nude and very delicious body.

Here he is in a barn in the middle of nowhere with the beautiful, fearless, and very naked Charlotte Matheson who had not so long ago tried to seduce him and who he had promised her mom and uncle, his best friend, that he would protect with his life. If there is a god, she most certainly is laughing at him mocking him.

"What?" Charlotte asks him her teeth chattering. She gets closer to the fire trying to get warmer. It doesn't appear to be working. He gets up and puts some more wood on the fire and starts making a makeshift bed near the fire.

"Come here, Charlotte."

She is in the process of yawning in between all her teeth chattering. "Bass, I'm cold, wet, tired, hungry, sore from sitting on a horse for hours upon hours, and I'm going to be sleeping on the ground so I'm really not interested right now no matter how naked you are." She is totally lying through her teeth.

He smiles. He knows she's lying. "Come here, Charlotte. I'm not going to seduce you. I want to keep you warm so I don't have to drag your body back to Miles and Rachel after you die from hypothermia."

She doesn't come to him right away. When she does, he's already lying down still wrapped in his blanket. He motions for her to lay in front of him. As soon as she sinks down into the straw, he pulls her tight against his front wrapping his blanket around her. She's still shuddering from the cold, but can feel his hot body pressed all up against her back and legs and she starts warming immediately. She smiles as he snuggles in closer to her. Her chin tucked underneath his head, he pushes up a little to look at her.

"Are you smiling? Why?" His breath tickles her ear and sends shivers down her spine.

"If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be spooning naked in a barn with Sebastian Monroe, I would have laughed in their face." She can feel him smile. She's trying hard not to think that there's only a blanket between their nude bodies. If she was not so tired and sore, she would have enjoyed this more. It isn't long till she's dozing off. "Thank you, Bass," she mumbles falling into a deep sleep.

Bass, however, did not sleep. Not for another hour. All he can think about is her body glowing in the firelight as she undressed and her thanking him sweetly before she drifted off to sleep. He keeps trying to remember that Miles and Rachel are counting on him, but it doesn't help much. She mumbles in her sleep grabbing his hand, clutching it, and pulling it up to her chest under her chin. He keeps her hand in his and finally drifts off to sleep pulling her tighter into his body.


	7. Chapter 7

Charlie snuggles into the heat of the body. Hot skin on hot skin. Legs tangled together. There is a chill in the air so it feels really good. She smiles and snuggles deeper slowly running her hand up and down his back. What a pleasant dream, she thinks. A strong calloused hand grips her side and clutches her closer sliding his hand up her arm then down her back and lower grabbing and pulling her towards a fairly large and hard erection. Charlie's eyes snap open coming fully awake. Bass is staring right at her inches away from her face. His eyes filled with desire. His breathing abnormal. His jaw clenched. "Charlotte," he whispers before leaning in to take her mouth in his in a gentle exploratory kiss. They both keep their eyes open looking at each other. At first she stays very still watching him. She can tell he is holding back.

She becomes aware of their naked bodies pressed up against each other. Her breasts against his chest when the need hits her powerful and shattering. She closes her eyes and opens her mouth kissing him back urgently. She rises up pushing him back on his back and climbs on top of him taking control. Her hands clutching his face holding his chin while sucking on his tongue, something she learned from him. She pushes her heat onto his erection. This makes him lose control. He groans sitting up wrapping his arm and legs around her flipping her over onto her back and kissing her harder. Deeper. He starts a wet path down her neck. Sucking. Biting. Nipping.

She runs her hands through his hair clutching his head as he makes his way to her breasts. His beard is soft against her skin. She is on fire and panting. Bass is worshipping her breasts with his mouth. She can't think straight as he makes his way lower sucking and taking little bites of her stomach. He moves between her legs. "You're so beautiful," he murmurs into her skin pushing her legs apart caressing her thighs with his hands and his mouth moving closer to her center. When he takes her nub in his mouth and begins laving and sucking it, she groans and grabs his hair with her hands pulling him further into her. Ready to combust, she arches her back. "Bass," She moans. He pushes two fingers into her and she shatters into a million pieces.

Bass watches gripping her hips mesmerized as she comes apart beneath him. She pulls his head up towards her and he takes her mouth again his tongue diving deep. Bass stills completely and it takes her moment to catch up. He pulls back slightly. He puts his finger up to her mouth silencing her. He jumps up pulling her to her feet pushing her towards her clothes. "Move. Quietly. Quickly."

They quickly get dressed and move silently covering up any evidence they were there. Bass glances through a crack in the barn and sure enough there are about five men on horseback heading towards them. The riders are still a ways back so they still have time to make a diversion and escape. He puts one of the saddles back on one of the horses and motions for Charlie to get on. He takes the other horse and sends it out the door with a smack on the rear and the horse takes off in a flash. Bass takes the reins of Charlie's horse and leads them towards the back.

Bass jumps up behind her on the horse, grabs the reins and they take off quietly through the back away from the barn. When they place a significant distance between them, they take off in a gallup putting more distance between them.

They ride hard until Bass knows the horse needs to walk to cool down. Taking a few breaks here and there, they ride for hours. His mind keeps going back to this morning and waking up with Charlotte wrapped around him naked like she belonged there and it feeling more like...home than anything had ever felt in his life.

Some time during the night, she had turned over facing him opened up her blanket and wrapped herself within his arms. How he hadn't felt it at the time was beyond him. He must have been more tired than he thought or maybe he thought it was just a really good dream. He woke up to her nestled perfectly into his chest, her lips mumbling against him deep asleep dreaming.

He watched her sleep for a long time and when her hands started exploring his body and her hips began to roll into his morning erection in a dreamlike haze, he ground his teeth together while holding back from seducing her in her sleep. When she finally woke up and realized he wasn't a dream, he really couldn't control himself any longer and when she came apart in his mouth...he feels the beginnings of the erection he hadn't gotten a chance to release and worked to compose himself.


	8. Chapter 8

They left the road long ago and are moving through paths and sparsely covered forest trying to throw anyone off their path that may be tracking them. He stops the horse.

"Do you hear that?" He asks Charlotte.

"It sounds like water."

He points the horse towards the sound and all of a sudden a clearing appears with a beautiful oasis encased in the middle of a secreted cove.

Charlotte laughs delighted. He smiles at her enthusiasm. These types of finds are few and far. She slides off the horse and makes her way towards a rock nestled next to wall of spring water flowing off the mountain. She holds out her hands and scoops up a drink. "It's perfect."

He slides off the horse and takes off its saddle tethering him to a tree near the water and some nice green grass. The horse chows down and is like Charlotte: in heaven. He pats him and checks his hooves for any damages rubbing him down looking up to watch Charlotte. He smiles. She is filling their canteens. He grabs her bow so he can hunt them something to eat. It doesn't take him any time and before long they are sitting down next to a fire eating rabbit.

"I could live here," Charlotte says grinning widely at him chowing down on her dinner.

Head back sitting down leaning against a tree opposite her, he hasn't said much all day just continues watching her. She occasionally looks up their eyes meeting unspoken words between them. It has always been like. Very few words are ever needed. They communicate with their eyes. They hold entire conversations that way with a word here and there to elaborate. It is something he has with only one other person: Miles. Those kind of connections are rare especially with the opposite sex. He has found that out the hard way. He could never capture that emotional connection and intimacy with a woman and he had tried many, many times. He'd come close with Emma and Shelly, but not near as spot on as he had with Charlotte. It had made what he did to her and her family in the past all that more difficult for him to forgive himself. He doubted she ever would.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte," he says quietly. Simply.

Her head shoots up from her meal. Her eyes meet his in surprise. Her smile disappears. A mixture of emotions run across her face fleetingly no one emotion taking hold. She doesn't say anything for several minutes looking at him then looking back down finishing her meal. He is unsure what her silence means. They remain that way for some time both of them sitting down leaning against trees across from each other thinking, enjoying the view, a rare peace and quiet. He pulls his knee up. His wrist resting casually over it looking out over their little oasis wondering if she will ever forgive him.

Charlotte rises and makes her way toward him stopping over him looking down into his eyes. She slowly takes off her jacket, her sword belt, and throws them to the side then proceeds to sit down straddling him. She cradles his face looking into his eyes for what seems like forever then leans in to kiss him gently on the lips. His eyes never once close. Hers does an intensity surrounding her. She places small little kisses delicately along his cheek to his ear.

"I forgive you," she whispers into his ear pulling back to look at him with compassion and forgiveness and some other emotion he wants so desperately to believe is love. The intensity of his emotions squeeze his heart wrecking his brain nearly crippling him with need. He sits up grabbing her gently by the face and kissing her with every ounce of emotion he feels. He pulls back looking at her forehead to forehead and starts laughing in unexpected waves of happiness and wonder. She has her hands still cradling his head and starts laughing with him.

He stills sobering a look of pure need on his face. He kisses her gently. What starts gentle quickly turns passionate a deeper urgency between them. He rolls her to the ground underneath him continuing to devour her with his mouth and explore her body with his hands. He kisses her...and kisses her.

Charlie is going to expire from need. She flips him pushing him back and climbs onto him straddling him smiling and laughing in utter happiness pulling her shirt off. He smiles looking up at her caressing her sides and her stomach reaching lower to cup and knead her butt pulling her harder down into him. His hands slide upwards cupping her breasts dragging a thumb over her nipples sending a shiver through her body. She leans down kissing him pulling his shirt up. He pulls up and they break long enough to pull his shirt over his head then she starts on his pants. She unbuttons and unzipps him placing kisses on his stomach when he pulls her up and rolls her over onto her back. He sits back and slowly pulls off her boots, socks, and pants admiring every inch of her. The intensity in his stare makes her heart skip a beat. He pulls her legs apart and moves in between them hovering over her kissing her with his eyes open seeming to say 'I could kiss you forever' and he feasts on her mouth moving to her breasts giving each thorough attention rolling into her hips with his. He has yet to take his jeans off, but that doesn't stop Charlie from sliding her hands beneath his jeans clutching him from behind pulling him harder into her.

"Bass," she pleads, "inside me, now." He moves over her between her legs and he groans when she reaches into his jeans wraps her hand around him and pulls him out while frantically pushing his jeans down with her hand as far she can then using her feet to push them down just enough while positioning him at her entrance and pushing up. They both let out long low groans as he pushes deep into her watching her face as he fills her wet heat. She gasps his name. It happens so fast Bass tries to gain some control of himself by holding her still and thinking of chess moves...anything to keep him from ending this so soon. She's biting her lower lip stroking him from head to chest squirming impatiently underneath him in need.

She pulls her legs higher on his hips gripping him like a vice arching into him and reaches down and grabs him where they meet touching him squeezing him. God. She's going to kill him. Jaw clenched. Sweat coats his body. He places his arms on either side of her head and begins to move inside her not taking his eyes off of hers. She keeps her eyes on him and he begins to move faster. Harder.

It is the emotion and passion in her face that has him skirting the edge breathing erratically as he pumps into her as far and deep as he can get. She runs her hands down his back clutching him to her trying to pull him further into her hitting her cervix. She lets out a little whimper that squeezes his gut. She pulls his head down, taking the air from his lungs latching onto his mouth sucking hard and it sends her careening over. She moans long and low into his mouth as she comes hard. He can feel her clutching him and sucking him with her orgasm and he loses control and his rhythm. He reaches down beneath her with both hands cupping her bottom pushing farther into her as far as he can possibly get: one, two, three hard thrusts and he lets go grunting "Charlie" as he spills deep inside her.

His forehead on her shoulder panting both covered in a sheen of sweat, he lifts slightly, but not entirely off of her so as to not crush her. She begins stroking his hair and his back keeping one of her legs wrapped around him. He rises on his elbows sliding his head up so he could kiss her neck and continues moving up to her ear then lower to her jaw then lightly on her lips looking down at her. He pushes her hair that has stuck to her face away tucking it behind her ear kissing the place softly. He moves to the side chin in hand simply looking at her.

"I'm gonna wanna do that again," she says smiling. She looks down at his legs. "You still have your boots and pants on," she chuckles. He smiles at her looking down at his feet where his pants are tangled around his boots at his ankles. Her legs tangled around his and one of her feet is inside his pants. They both laugh.

The intensity of their relationship: love, hate, anger, revenge, redemption, lust, attraction, passion, seduction, adrenaline fueled life and death situations, family angst and drama has made for an extremely charged sexual encounter. He can already feel himself wanting her again.

He grabs her hand interlacing their fingers bringing it up to his mouth kissing the back while laying his head in the crook of his arm just simply looking at her. "Wanna go skinny dipping?" He asks her his voice hoarse with an emotion he doesn't really want to think about just yet.

She smiles big. "Yes."

After getting out of his jeans and boots, they dive into the water and spend the next half hour simply enjoying life. The water feels fantastic. Charlie finds a small bar of soap in the bottom of her pack so they use the opportunity to clean up. Bass takes the soap out of her hand and turns her around lathering her hair. "So this is why you smell like vanilla."

"Yes, it's shampoo soap," she grins enjoying the nice head massage. "You like it?"

He groans. "Yes. Too much." He kisses her ear. "Every time I smell vanilla I look for you." She smiles ducking under to rinse her hair. He kisses her neck and turns her around in the water facing him. "Every time I smell it the rest of my life I'll think of you." He kisses her.

Charlie wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips. She nibbles at his lips and rubs her face against his beard and face. He laughs. "You love doing that. You're like a cat."

"I do," she smiles forehead falling to his and reaches between her legs under the water to grab him in her hand and start working him. His eyes go black with desire. "Charlotte…" He was hard again fifteen minutes after they hit the water when she brushed up against him with her breasts.

He kisses her. He strokes her mouth with his tongue groaning when she works him harder and faster. He grabs her arm, moves it, and thrusts up into her forcefully in one quick move making them both gasp. "Charlotte...I...am...close," he says hoarsely as he pumps into her both hands on her bottom pushing her down onto him. He reaches in between touching her while sucking on her tongue and she comes apart in his arms. He puts both hands on her bottom and thrusts hard into her one last time spilling himself into her grunting into their kiss.

She lays her forehead on his shoulder. "Wow," she says breathlessly. "I'm surprised I didn't drop my soap." She still has it clutched in her hand. He laughs hoarsely out of breath himself. "Let's stay here and be lazy the rest of the day and night."

Bass looks at her in his arms. He doesn't think there is anything he wouldn't do for her. "Ok." He carries her out of the water and they lay in the grass in the sun drying off. Before long she curls into him on her side. "You know what I miss? Ice cream and I remember during the later part of the spring just when it was getting hot and dad would turn the fan on in the sunroom while I was watching cartoons and I'd fall asleep under it the windows open and you could smell the lake. Yes. I miss ice cream and naps under the fan in front of the tv."

He turns on his side towards her. "I miss long hot showers and riding my motorcycle, but most of all, I miss music. I miss turning it up and singing at the top of my lungs."

She is grinning widely. "I would love to see that. Do you even carry a tune?"

"I don't know and I don't care." She laughs at him. "I loved classic rock and heavy metal...80's metal. Loved it. Drove Miles crazy." He laid back into the grass onto his back lost in the past. "I got him to sing with me though and eventually he started loving it just as much as I did."

Charlie puts her arm on his chest resting her chin on it and stares at him. "You are an enigma, Sebastian Monroe. You recite poetry and listened to something called heavy metal."

They put some clothes on and went hunting to find some food. As they are walking back, Bass grabs her hand interlacing with his and looks sideways at her giving her a crooked grin. She grins so hard her dimples hurt laughing. "I'm happy," she says breathlessly. "I could get used to this." As soon as she says it, she feels his mood change. Bass sobers turning serious and looks ahead wrapping his arm around her neck and pulling her close placing a kiss in her head.

"We'll leave in the morning."

She nods her head in acknowledgement relinquishing some of her happiness realizing they cannot stay here forever. They avoid talking about it the rest of the night eating their dinner and cuddling by the fire. Bass tells her about his childhood and more Miles and Monroe stories that have them both laughing crying. They fall into a comfortable silence Bass leaning against a tree and Charlotte in front of him between his legs back to him leaning against him his arms surrounding her. "You are not who I thought you were," she says to him falling asleep in his arms.

Bass feels anxiety...like he cannot catch his breath. This isn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to happen especially with her. The intensity of emotions scare him. They'll leave him vulnerable. She is his weakness now and that puts her life in danger. Then there is Miles and Rachel's reaction.

She moves in his arms and he realizes he's squeezing her a response to his agitated emotions. He releases his grip and tries to calm his racing heart. He still has to find his son. What will happen when he leaves her? Can he leave her? The ache settles in his chest at that thought making his breath catch. His heart hurt with the thought. He kisses her lightly on the head. She snuggles more into his arms. He falls asleep Charlotte in his arms even more afraid of the future than he's ever been in his life.


	9. Chapter 9

When he wakes up, the first thing he realizes is Charlotte's not with him. He tenses. He listens. He doesn't hear a sound. The horse is still tethered. Her pack is still here, but Charlotte's nowhere in sight. His stomach clenches. He gets up and fights the panic rising in him. He doesn't see her bow so she may be out hunting breakfast. Still, the thought of her running off by herself...unsettles him. Another fifteen minutes and he's pacing almost to the point of going out and tracking her and she casually strolls up with their breakfast.

She smiles at him. He marches over to her in agitation pulls her into his arms grabbing her by the face and kisses her passionately. When passion has pushed the other negative emotions out of his mind, he pulls back and looks into her eyes.

Charlie knew immediately that Bass was in panic and anger mode. She could see it in his face and feel it in his body. The worry and anxiety in his eyes and the intensity of his kiss. "I'm not going anywhere, Bass," she promises firmly her eyes never leaving his. He smiles and kisses her hand.

They are on the road an hour later after saying goodbye to their little paradise. They ride a long time neither saying a word.

"Sing to me," Charlie says out of the blue.

"What?"

"You said you used to sing so sing to me." She's smiling.

"No," he laughs.

"Please?"

He sighs.

She waits.

"Remember you asked for it," he says low in her ear.

_" 'Mama told me when I was young_  
_Come sit beside me, my only son_  
_And listen closely to what I say._  
_And if you do this_  
_It'll help you some sunny day._  
_Take your time... Don't live too fast,_  
_Troubles will come and they will pass._  
_Go find a woman and you'll find love,_  
_And don't forget son,_  
_There is someone up above._

_And be a simple kind of man._  
_Be something you love and understand._  
_Baby, Be a simple kind of man._  
_Won't you do this for me son,_  
_If you can?_

_Forget your lust for the rich man's gold_  
_All that you need is in your soul,_  
_And you can do this if you try._  
_All that I want for you my son,_  
_Is to be satisfied._

_And be a simple kind of man._  
_Be something you love and understand._  
_Baby, Be a simple kind of man._  
_Won't you do this for me son,_  
_If you can?_

_Boy, don't you worry._  
_You'll find yourself._  
_Follow your heart,_  
_and nothing else._  
_You can do this, oh babe,_  
_if you try._  
_All that I want for you my son,_  
_is to be satisfied._

_And be a simple kind of man._  
_Be something you love and understand._  
_Be a simple kind of man._  
_Won't you do this for me son,_  
_If you can?' "_

Charlie didn't realize she was holding her breath and tears had gathered in her eyes. He'd sung quietly into her ear sending shivers up and down her spine making her tingle. She had been completely unprepared for the intensity of his emotions behind the words to the song and how he poured himself into it even if it was barely above a whisper. She was silent for a long time trying to check her emotions.

They had been riding for quite a while so Bass thought this was a perfect time to take a break. There was a river and a big tree.

He helped her down his hands on her arms and he stopped noticing tears in her eyes.

"That was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard and your voice..." she pauses"...is perfect," she says places a light kiss on his lips and walks off.

Bass stood there startled unsure of how to react to the emotions coursing through him. She was back standing in front of him and he couldn't stop the big shy crooked grin that crawled across his face when she looked at him.

She crinkles her nose into a shy smile and looks toward the water. "It's too bad we can't go for a swim."

"Who says we can't?" He looks at her smiling. He grabs her, throwing her over his shoulder, walks over and drops her into the water.

She comes up sputtering. "You...you...beast!"

He's laughing at her. "You said you wanted to go swimming."

"I...I meant...without clothes, you moron" she yells laughing. Standing in the water up to her neck she looks at him and pouts. She pushes through the water towards him.

He feels kind of bad now and walks farther into the water to help her out. "I'm sor…" he's cut off. Mistake. He reaches for her hand and she grabs and yanks him pulling him off balance and sweeping him off his feet with her legs. He tumbles into the water disappearing beneath it. Now she's laughing at him, but then when he doesn't surface, she starts to worry.

"Bass!" She dives under searching for him. Three dives under, he's still not surfaced. She panics. He surfaces in the middle of the river.

"Did I ever tell you I can hold my breath a really, really long time?" He's smiling pushing the water from his face and hair.

She stands there watching him without any expression on her face panic slowly subsiding. She then makes her way towards the bank looking back over her shoulder to make sure he's still there slyly smiling at him.

His breath catches seeing that smile and devilish twinkle in her eyes.

She grabs her pack off the horse and takes out her only other set of clothes and starts slowly stripping in full view of him. He's still treading water in the middle of the river. His attention riveted on her. She looks right at him taking off each article of clothing very slowly and seductively.

Bass starts making his way towards her after she pulls off her shirt. Standing on the bank in full daylight totally nude her wet hair falling down her back, she is one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen. He's out of the water pulling her into his arms laying a passionate kiss on her. By the time they both pull away, they're out of breath. "Brat," he chuckles breathlessly nipping at her lips.

She laughs pushing him away. "Go change. You're wet."

Five minutes later he was back and she was trying to comb her hair with her fingers. He turned her around and started running his fingers through her hair combing it. "I lost my comb. Sometimes I want to just cut it all off."

"No." He orders simply. "It's...beautiful. Then again, you would be beautiful with a bald head. Of course, then we would need to find you a hat so your head wouldn't burn in the sun...or attract the patriots." They laugh.

"Sebastian Monroe!" They both tense.

"Stay behind me, Charlotte," Bass says to her low turning to face the five emerging men surrounding them.

"Who? You have the wrong person." Bass looks at them assessing and strategizing how best to kill them all. Quickly. Without getting Charlotte involved.

"And who is this lovely creature?" The toothless gangly pale haired pale skinned degenerate says licking his lips looking at Charlotte like he wants to eat her. "I'm gonna t'ave me a piece of that."

Bass' eyes go deadly and calm. He smiles and laughs. "She's for sale for a nice price."

"What?!" Charlie snaps. Bass turns and winks at her smiling.

"Why don't we just take her?" Another of the ugly cretins ask.

"You could, but she's really not worth it. She can be a real pain in the ass. Headstrong. Stubborn as hell. Doesn't listen to a word I say and she thinks she's smarter than everyone and she can't cook worth shit."

"Who says she has to cook? I don't want her for cookin'."

Bass looks at Charlotte. "Well, now THAT she is good at. Excellent. She'll blow your mind and rock your world." He smiles at her. "She's a mystifying desirable hellion and once you've tasted her, she's like the most intoxicating drug...you cannot get enough of her." Bass is maneuvering himself while staring into Charlotte's eyes about five feet in front of her. Charlotte is taking the cue circling around till they're both in position. "She's got these legs that go on forever and her breasts are perfect and her neck is made for kissing and that is absolutely nothing compared to her eyes and lips and above all else is her heart because there is no beauty equal to that of her heart."

Charlie stops moving standing there simply looking at him speechless. She realizes they are in position.

"You know what, guys. I've decided I don't want to get rid of her after all," and he attacks taking two out immediately.

Charlie takes out one, but is struggling with another while Bass is taking on the leader. Out of nowhere another comes up behind Charlie pinning her arms and dragging her off. She's kicking and bucking. The other man hits her hard with his fist and Charlie is stunned motionless for a second. She quickly recovers grabbing her knife out of her boot and pushing it deeply into the leg of the man holding her. She severs his artery and blood spurts. She pulls out and plunges again and again till she feels a knife pierce her side. The pain shoots through her, but the man loses his grip on her and falls to the ground as the other attacks her sending his blade into her shoulder. The pain nearly brings her to her knees. That did some damage. She throws herself at him adrenaline fueled striking him with her sword in one hand to fend off his blows and her knife in the other aiming for his jugular falling on him slicing cleanly sprayed by blood while falling onto him on the ground. He's not moving beneath her. The last thing she hears as she loses consciousness is the man gurgling beneath her dying.

Bass finally takes care of the leader and looks back and his face drains of color. He's sees Charlotte lying on the ground on top of one of the men covered in blood not moving. He runs to her.

"Charlotte." He turns her over off the man onto the ground and checks her. Most of the blood is not hers, but she does have a wound to her side that isn't too bad and one to her shoulder, which is the worse of the two. He carries her over to the water and begins working on her cleaning her up and covering the wound.

Bass needs to get her to a doctor or at least somewhere else in case these men have friends. He carries her to the horse and places her in front of him. They ride along the river. After a couple of hours and darkness, he knows he's going to have to take care of her wounds. He finds a covered spot not clearly visible to anyone looking and spends the next two hours tending to her wounds including building a fire and laying a hot knife against her so it will stop bleeding. She wakes briefly cries out and passes out again.

Over the next twelve hours he takes care of her. She wakes up here and there nothing coherent coming from her. This worries him. Actually, he's terrified. He's never been so terrified in his life. The beautiful little imp has latched onto his heart and he's not really sure how to deal with it. He has to go look for his son and he cannot take her with him. He cannot leave her. A deep sigh and he's looking at her laying next to him for an answer. She opens her eyes.

"Hi," she croaks.

He leans over her smiling. "Hi, beautiful." He pushes her hair back behind her ear. She smiles weakly at him. His heart melts relieved.

"Am I really a bad cook?" She asks him seriously.

He laughs out loud. "Brat."

"Am I dying?" She asks licking her lips.

He smiles wider. "No. You'll be around a long time to torture me." He helps her up and gives her a some water. She drinks.

"Oh good. I was really worried I wouldn't be around to do that." Her eyes are closing again so he helps her lay back down. She won't let go of his hand. "I just need to sleep for a few more minutes then I'll continue torturing you." She closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.

He leans down and kisses her lightly on the lips then continues staring at her running a hand through her hair. How in the hell is he going to explain this to Miles? All of it? When he can't even figure it out himself.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day they are on their way to meet Miles, Rachel, and Aaron. Charlie is sore and occasionally in pain, but mends quickly and has always had a high tolerance for pain.

When they hit town, Bass leaves her disappearing for a few to scout the town. When he gets back he's wearing a long dark brown coat that he's clearly pleased and enthusiastic about. "I'm a brown coat," he smiles admiring his new coat.

"What?" She laughs at his delight. Sometimes he's like a cheerful little boy.

He laughs and shrugs. "Pop culture reference. One of my favorite tv shows back when." He places a hat on her head.

She takes it off looking at it. She tries pulling her hair into a bun and puts it back on covering her hair Bass watching her smiling. He hasn't stopped watching her. He's been exceedingly kind and compassionate to her making sure she's comfortable and taking better care of her than anyone ever has. She'll catch him watching her and he'll either wink at her, smile shyly, or lean over and kiss her lightly on the lips all of a sudden out of nowhere.

There were a few times when he first helped her get dressed his look of lust almost made her forget her wounds and seduce him then and there. She wanted him badly and she knew the feeling was mutual. Then there were the times that he had a sadness about him. The latest one she could not endure so she hugged him tightly and he wouldn't let go. "Did you know that hugs release endorphins?" She asked him and he hugged her tighter and longer burying his face in her neck. How they got out of that embrace without ending up naked, she cannot recall.

It's daytime and they're sitting outdoors drinking whatever it is Bass got them from the little shop. She's not really paying attention. His chin is in his hand looking at her smiling and she's smiling back at him.

"What?" She laughs.

"Your hair is sticking out everywhere from under your hat. It's cute." She takes the hat back off and her hair comes spilling around her shoulders and Bass fights the urge to kiss her.

She laughs rolling her eyes at him and that's how Miles, Rachel, and Aaron find them. Grinning at each other so hard their teeth blinding not a care in the world and paying attention to no one. The patriots could've been lined up around them ready to attack and Bass and Charlie only had eyes for each other.

Miles and Rachel look at them then look at each other. _Oh no._

"Hi," Miles says. No response. "Hellooooooo." He says louder and that gets their attention.

Charlie blushes. Bass loses the silly grin and gets serious.

"Any problems?" Miles ask as they sit down across from them.

"One." He looks at Charlie guilt and anger clearly on his face and Miles' eyes turn dark.

"Yes?"

"We ran into some guys and I failed at protecting Charlotte…" and before he could finish she spoke up snapping at him.

"It wasn't your fault. It was my fault."

"No, I should've seen him and…"

"I can take care of myself. I just didn't see that asshole behind the tree."

"I should've been there…"

"Bass, you cannot protect me all the time."

"Yes, I can! I can damn well try."

She sighs. "My wounds are healing quickly."

Miles, Rachel, and Aaron watches them their heads going back and forth first to Charlie then to Bass then back to Charlie then to Bass and so on as they argue like an old married couple. By the time Charlie and Bass finish and notice the silence from across the table, Aaron's mouth is hanging open looking at them in shock, Rachel is grinding teeth, and Miles has his head in his hand shaking it sighing deeply.

"What?" Bass and Charlie ask at the same time.

"Well, this is a shockingly unexpected development," Miles says looking at Rachel. Rachel all of sudden bursts into laughter. Miles not far behind her. Charlie is grinning at them confused but finding their shared laughter adorable and Bass and Aaron are looking at them like they're fucking crazy, which makes them laugh harder.

They spend the next hour discussing their trips minus certain personal aspects that Charlie and Bass fail to disclose on purpose. Miles, Rachel, and Aaron are trying to get accustomed to Charlie and Bass finishing each other's sentences and the overall cheerful countenance of both of them together acting as if they'd been best friends for years.

"We have four rooms at the local pub or saloon...whatever the yocals are calling it," Miles grunts.

"Four?" Charlie asks smiling knowing.

It's Rachel's turn to blush.

"Mind your own business," he picks up her hat on the table and throws it at her.

Aaron is squirming awkwardly and Bass is smiling at Miles.

They all stand.

"You're a brown coat," Aaron declares to Bass somewhat astonished.

Bass smiles at Aaron. "I know. Isn't it great?" His hands smooth down the front of his coat.

"You were a fan?" Aaron is amazed.

"Absolutely."

"God," Miles grumbles and Rachel smiles at him and pulls his arm around her. They all walk off towards their rooms.


	11. Chapter 11

Bass had been too many days without Charlotte. He missed her. He wanted her. He wanted to taste her and touch her. He wanted to make sure she was alright. He wanted to know if she missed him as much as he missed her.

He and Miles had gone out of town to scout some abandoned properties and had been gone several days leaving the girls and Aaron back at the boarding house. Charlotte's wounds had to mend before she traveled again. She had argued. He had said no. She argued some more. He had continued to say no. She turned to another tactic.

Charlotte did a one-eighty. She smiled approaching him with that sneaky impish gleam in her eyes. She ran her hands up his chest and kissed him. Passionately. This is the first time they'd been alone since they reunited with Miles, Rachel, and Aaron and the lust hit him hard. After about five minutes of heavy kissing, Charlotte pulled back slightly continuing to nip him on his neck up to his ear both of them panting. "Now you want me with you, right?" She whispered into his ear sucking on his lobe.

Bass grabbed her by the arms and begrudgingly set her away from him stepping back. "No. Your wounds need to heal, Charlie."

She looked at him indignant then turned and left him standing there. That was three days ago. He missed her. It had taken a lot for him to leave her behind especially after that kiss. It had made him grumpy and Miles immediately picked up on it.

He and Miles finally find a property. It's late so they decide to spend the night. They're outside the back of the house leaning up against it watching the stars and passing a bottle of whiskey back and forth.

"I miss vodka and tequila," Miles says taking a long drink of the swill they have to make do with.

They're good and drunk...wasted even...so Bass thinks it's time. "I miss Charlotte." He takes a long drink passing the bottle to him.

Miles starts to take a drink. Stops. "What?!" He gawks at Bass. "What did you do, Bass?"

"I've fallen in love with your perplexingly desirable hellion of a niece," he grumbles. "She will be the death of me."

"Serves you right," Miles growls then starts laughing. "Maybe she can do what I couldn't."

"It's not funny, man. She's all I think about," he hesitates "wait, what?" Then continues on not bothering to wait for the answer. "She's the most provocative creature I've ever come across. One minute she's arguing with me stubborn as hell to have her way and the next she's seducing me with a kiss that about brings me to my knees. I have this visceral emotional connection to her that is staggering and the attraction is just...just..." His head falls back against the house.

"For the benefit of this conversation and the fact that we're both so drunk that even if I wanted to kick your ass, I don't think I possibly could right now with a bottle of this swill in me, we're not going to discuss specific personal details of your relationship with Charlie...like kissing and...other things."

"Hell, she's the one that came after me. I tried to push her away. She doesn't understand the word no. It's like a challenge to her. She's the most exasperating beautiful headstrong brat...ever. Have you ever met someone like her?"

"You forget, I fell in love with her mother," Miles grunts.

"Yes, and let's talk about THAT shall we. I have the same connection with her that I have with you. We communicate the same way. The girl is a female you, Miles. Same mannerisms. Same stubborn headstrong wickedness. She even fights like you. Christ, Miles! She's you. Please tell me you've noticed this?"

Miles is quiet for a while looking at the stars. "Yes."

"Buddy, I know you and Rachel have always been a taboo subject and I've respected that, but after having met Charlotte and all this…" he waves the bottle around shaking his head and Miles grabs it taking a drink.

Head back against the wall, Miles looks at him. "Does it matter if she is or isn't mine?"

Bass regards him for the longest time. "No. It wouldn't change anything. Not a damn thing."

"Well, then, there you have it. Welcome to the club because her mother is just as stubborn and headstrong and complicated and beautiful and…" Miles sighs. "She wasn't happy about this." He motions to Bass. "I warned her that this was happening. She was not happy that I sent her off with you. Thought she was gonna skewer me with my own sword. I got an earful."

Bass looks at him astonished. "You knew?! A little heads up would've been nice. I wouldn't have been so..."

"I did say something! You apparently listen as well as Charlie does," Miles snaps. "You pigheaded idiots are made for each other. Never listen to a damn thing I say," He mumbles into the bottle.

"I didn't know she'd be so...unrelenting and...bewitching…and addictive...and...and..."

"And?"

A deep breath. "Forgiving," Bass says looking away from him contrite. "By the time you said something, it was already too late. I did try for you...and Rachel...and her." He sighs. "She deserves better." He adds quietly. They are quiet for some time.

"Back when she brought you back to town. She was...different and your execution...I think it changed her. I think you changed her. I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing." He pauses remembering back when Charlie first came to him in Chicago. It felt like so many lifetimes ago. "She's good for you like she's been for me. She reminds me of what's important. Of my humanity. My compassion. Something I'd forgotten and something I know you've forgotten." He sighs. "Rachel didn't think you were a good thing obviously, but what can you do." He turns to Bass. "I've already tried killing you and failed...miserably time and time again and there's no stopping Charlie. She's just like her mother; a friggin' force of nature. You and her are like watching a fucking train wreck I can't do anything about. Just stand by and watch it happen and help clean up afterwards. She may be good for you, but I dunno how you're good for her. She appears to be...happy." He takes a long drink.

"You know what she said to me one night not too long ago? Charlie? She said 'Listen, I dunno what your backstory is with mom. I'm not sure I wanna know, but we are here now and this world is chaos. We live day to day, minute to minute, not knowing if we'll survive to see the next. You should grab happiness when you can.'" Miles laughs. "The kid's twenty-one going on forty. So much wisdom from someone so young...and that's when I knew."

Bass looks at him. "What?"

"You and her...you fit. Ironic as hell," he's laughing. "But she's good for you and she's definitely changed you. I haven't seen you smile that way since...since before Shelly died. I see a glimpse of the guy I once knew and was proud to call my best friend. That guy who was compassionate, fun, happy, and a really good guy. The guy that wasn't a black hole devouring everyone around him and I can't have you going all dark and psychotic on us again. We need your help to take down the patriots and if Charlie can ground you in some way..." He drinks the last of the bottle. "She's your salvation, brother. When you look at her…"

"I see tomorrow," he finishes quietly. "She's like...home."


	12. Chapter 12

They get back into town late the next day. No one is in their rooms so Miles and Bass get some dinner, have a drink, and retire. Bass takes a bath and sits in bed falling asleep sitting up against the headboard.

Charlie closes the door and leans against it looking at him keeping all expression from her face.

His eyes open and they look at each other.

Charlie moves to the foot of his bed. His eyes follow her. She's in a tank and a pair of jeans barefoot. Her toes peeking out from the edge of her long jeans. Her hair damp from a bath hanging long around her shoulders.

She sees the need clearly on his face. The lust in his eyes. Her breath skips. His legs move restlessly and stop. His chest bare. The sheet slips further down his body around his hips. He's nude. Her mouth opens and she licks her lips biting the bottom one as she gazes to where the sheet is slipping. He sees it and out comes one of his lazy charming crooked smiles.

Tilting her head, she takes a deep breath. She starts unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans never taking her eyes from him. His breath catches. She pulls them off dropping them in the floor walking around to the side of the bed still at his feet. She crawls into his bed and up his body on all fours. He doesn't move an inch. She straddles his legs and he's still wearing the sheet. She's wearing the tank and nothing else.

"Charlotte," he murmurs barely above a whisper.

She places his hand full on his chest and runs them down his stomach to his sides. His stomach muscles ripple. "Charlotte." He's very aroused. She can see that clearly from the sheet. She moves her legs up his thighs and he makes a move to pull her forward onto his erection.

"No." His hands drop to the side desire on his face.

She leans forward and flicks a tongue over one of his nipples and he groans. He moves to place his hands into her hair and she pulls back. "No hands...yet." He drops them again.

She's missed him so goddamn much that it hurt. Physically hurt. Her need had been overwhelming. She woke up the nights he was away wet with sweat aching for him so badly she had to fill that need herself and it only made it worse. Her breasts were throbbing as was other parts of her body. She longed to devour him with her mouth.

She leans forward again and latches onto one of his nipples with her lips and starts sucking with her tongue not breaking eye contact with him. She moves to the other. Bass' breathing is erratic and he's gripping the bed. She moves down his stomach licking and biting him. She pulls down the sheet and the friction of it over his erection makes him squirm. When Charlie reaches down to him and takes him into her mouth, his hands grab her head running his fingers through her hair as her mouth takes him all in. He rolls into her mouth guiding her head with his hands and they both groan when he touches the back of her throat.

It doesn't take long. She can tell he's getting close. She's looking directly at him taking him in sucking hard. His eyes worshipping her. She moves her other hand to cup him and he grunts releasing into her mouth with a long low moan softly caressing her face with his hands as she swallows all of him. Every last drop.

She rubs her face against his hips sliding up to his stomach laying there. He's petting her head running his hands through her hair trying to catch his breath.

"Charlotte..." he whispers head back looking at the ceiling. The emotion within him feels like someone is sitting on his chest.

"I know," she whispers back her head still laying on his stomach.

Bass feels the lone tear fall onto his stomach. Raw emotion grips his heart. He pulls her up wrapping his arms around her holding her and rubbing his hands up and down her back her head resting on his shoulder. He pushes her head back looking into her eyes. "Why tears?" He gently rubs a thumb wiping away the tear at her eye.

She smiles. "Because you're beautiful. We're beautiful together and I missed you so much."

He smiles and kisses her gently. She puts her hands into his hair and pulls him down into the kiss deepening it. After several minutes, she pulls back breathlessly. "You know what I love? When you suck on my tongue. I think that's just about the hottest thing...ever and I want you to do it again and again," and he kisses her again doing just that.

She can feel him growing hard again beneath her. She pushes herself down onto him grinding him. She still has her shirt on, but that doesn't stop Bass from grabbing her breasts and massaging them through her tank. He moves his hand between her legs and slips his fingers between her folds.

"God, you're so wet," he groans.

She begins to move on his finger and she gasps and grips his arm. Her legs gripping his hips. "Bass," she moans soft and slow.

She pulls her tank off and throws it to the floor and continues moving beneath his fingers slowly. He grabs her by the hips and positions himself below and she pushes onto him taking all of him whimpering as he thrusts upwards. She falls forward her hair spilling across his chest and starts moving on him rolling her hips her hands braced on his shoulders. It won't take her long. It never does. She can already feel it escalating within her. She rolls faster and harder.

Bass knows she's about to break so he leans up taking her breast in his mouth and sucks not breaking eye contact and that pushes her over the edge. She cries out as she shatters. He continues to suck her breast pumping up into her as she rides out the orgasm long and hard his hand at the base of her lower back holding her. She falls forward. He's still hard within her. His hand rubbing her back and through her hair.

After a few, Charlie sits up slightly looking into his eyes. Desire is still there. His jaw is clenched. He moves within her and she gasps at the pleasure that shoots through her.

"Again," he orders leaning forward taking the air from her lungs sucking on her tongue. She sits back onto him and he grunts pushing up into her gripping her hips moving faster. He pushes his finger onto that sensitive nub and she loses her rhythm falling forward again hitting the peak exploding into a millions stars above him.

Bass rolls her over pulling her legs back farther over his hips pumping into her head falling onto her shoulder groaning through his own release.

He moves slightly to the side on his stomach. She stays on her back head to the side. Arms and legs are tangled and they drift into sleep never breaking eye contact.

Bass wakes her up again late into the night moving in behind her on his side kissing her neck slipping into her from behind pulling her leg back over his as he thrusts into her. Kissing her long and hard palming her breasts then moving down her body rubbing her sensitive nub, she explodes gripping and pumping the orgasm out of him both of them moaning long and hard into the kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

They've filled a wagon with supplies and are making their way towards their new home base comically titled _'Camp Lay Low'_ by Miles.

Since they reunited, Rachel has been different treating her more like an adult than a petulant child. She probably has Miles to think for that.

After Miles and Bass left, Rachel asked Charlie to go for a walk with her after dinner one night. Just the two of them. She expected the conversation to be about Bass.

"Charlie, Miles told me about...about you and Bass. Well, he told me what he thought was happening."

Charlie didn't say a word. Refused her any replies, expressions or emotions. She braced herself for a lecture. "And?"

Rachel sighs glancing around not really looking, but avoiding Charlie's eyes taking a deep breath. "I've not been a good mother. I abandoned you when I probably shouldn't have. I...I really don't know how to be a mother. Never have. Now that you're a woman...an adult, it just doesn't feel right me demanding this and that from you trying to atone and impose my choices for you on your life. I know how I was at your age…" she laughs. "I would have laughed and rebelled in my mom's face if she had done to me what I've done to you."

Rachel paused. Charlie waited.

"Miles reminded me that we're a lot alike. You're headstrong and very independent like I am. He told me what you said about grabbing happiness when we can because we may not live to see another day. I want that for you. I want you to be happy when you can. Grab it and hold onto it. I want to tell you that I'm here for you if you need me, but ultimately, it's your life and these are your choices. I love you and I am here for you. That's all."

Charlie hugged her. Tightly. For the longest time. "I love you." That was three days ago.

They arrive at the house. It is enormous and not as rundown as what they're use to. The house is off the beaten path behind a stone wall hard to find unless you're looking for it. They take the rest of the day to make a portion of it habitable. Miles and Rachel make them all dinner and they eat in the massive living room with the oversized fireplace.

"To our little dysfunctional family," Miles toasts sarcastically.

"You guys sure love your alcohol," Aaron says mockingly.

" 'All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, ' " Charlie quotes laughing.

"Tolstoy," Bass looks at her. "Now how is it that you can quote Eliot and Tolstoy?" He asks grinning at her.

"I love to read and being raised around three brainiacs...they were always putting books in my hands. How is it that you can?" Charlie returns his grin.

"Bass' other superpower is his photographic memory," Miles says flatly.

Charlie looks at Bass grinning shaking her head. _And yet another revelation about you_, her eyes say.

"Are you serious?" Aaron asks amazed.

Charlie watches Bass look away...uncomfortable?

"We need to find Neville," Miles states emphatically.

"Talk about a dysfunctional family…" Bass laughs. "Miles…" Before Bass can finish Miles holds up his hand.

"I know, Bass. We'll get to it." His son.

They're all quiet for the longest time. Pensive.

The plan had been to hang out here for about a week to try and devise an agenda of what, no one knew. They were basically taking it day by day and they needed a few days to lay low and take a beat away from the patriots. Rest, relax, recuperate, and think. What to do next especially after recent revelations.

Charlie nods off in a corner of one of the many old sofas in the room. Bass is watching her and has been most of the night. Aaron had retired long ago. Bass, Miles and Rachel remain awake. Sitting. Not talking. He's aware they've been watching him...watch her.

"Say it, Rachel. I know you wanna," Bass says low. He can feel her eyes on him. Her animosity.

"You hurt my little girl, Bass, and I will kill you." Miles grabs her hand for comfort lacing her hand within his.

Bass takes a drink not bothering to look at them keeping his eyes on Charlotte. He feels the melancholy wrap around him. He knows Rachel is telling the truth. "If I hurt Charlotte, you won't have to kill me." He sets the drink down and goes to Charlotte gently picking her up in his arms and carrying her upstairs to a room.

Rachel looks at Miles flustered searching for answers. Miles shrugs. "I told you. He's changed."

Bass tucks Charlotte into bed watching her for the longest time and then leaves. He needs to do some serious thinking.


	14. Chapter 14

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"What in the holy hell are you two idiots arguing about?!" Miles walks into the kitchen. "You sound like an old married couple!"

Bass is on one side of the kitchen hands on hips; Charlie on the other likewise. Both smiling. There in the middle sits Aaron mouth open staring between them.

Charlie looks at Miles and scoffs. "Who said anything about marriage. I'm just using him for sex."

Aaron's mouth drops further.

"Oh my god, Charlie. You're killing me," Miles says shaking his head. He looks at Bass who is leaning back against the counter arms and legs crossed looking at Charlie amused. Bass looks at Miles shrugs and mouths _I told you_.

Rachel chooses that moment to walk into the room. "What?"

"That!" Miles points at Charlie. "Your daughter is killing me."

"Oh." She looks between them nostalgically then walks up to him smiling and kisses him on the cheek. Miles is thrown off. She walks over to Charlie and does the same.

"Are you alright, Rachel?" Miles asks.

Rachel looks at them all smiling. "Yes."

Charlie is smiling at her. Regardless of everything going on around them and while Cynthia's death and Aaron's revelations had them reeling, they were determined to bring some levity to their situation.

Aaron puts his head in his hands. "You people are nuts."

"Says the man who lights people on fire with his mind," Bass laughs patting Aaron on the back sitting down next to him.

Aaron is quiet.

"Nice, Bass," Miles says sarcastically.

Bass looks at Charlie. _What did I say?_

Charlie tilts her head giving Bass the _fix it_ look and walks back over to her mom and Miles on the other side of the room. She looks back over her shoulder and Bass shrugs his shoulders: _how?_ Charlie rolls her eyes - _you're no dumbass, figure it out_ - turning her back on him. Bass sighs.

"What do you want, Monroe?"

"You're angry."

Deep breath. "Yes, I am."

They're both quiet for a time. "I had a girlfriend. A couple of years after the blackout. Her name was Shelly. She was pregnant. Died in childbirth. Lost her and the baby. One of the worse days of my life." Aaron is looking at him as are Charlie, Miles, and Rachel. All taken aback by his sudden admission. He's looking across the room into the past his eyes glazing over. "Afterwards I got mad. I held onto that anger until it festered into...well, it all went downhill from there. I think you know the rest of the story." Bass looks at him folding his arms on the table in front of him leaning towards Aaron. "My point is...maybe you should channel your anger at the patriots. Aim it all at them and know we've all got your back."

"Bass!" Charlie snaps torn between compassion for him and frustration.

Bass looks at her. "What?"

Charlie looks at Miles. Miles shrugs. "The man has a point. If he's going to get mad, get mad at the patriots."

"And have another psychotic dictator on our hands?" Charlie pointedly looks at Bass.

_That hurt._ Bass grabs his chest feigning hurt laughing."I said we'll have his back."

Rachel steps forward. "Aaron, we're here for you. Whatever you need. You know I'll help in whatever way possible."

Aaron doesn't say anything at first. He's looking into the other room. "I'll be ok. I need...space." He disappears somewhere into the massive house.

Later in the day Charlie, Miles and Bass are training in the gardens in the back of the house. Bass was determined to train her how to defend herself when and if someone came up behind her in surprise again. She could tell he hadn't quite got over the last time it happened.

The house and the property are massive. Rachel sits watching them through the enormous bay window of the house overlooking the garden and pool area.

Charlie could imagine the gardens once filled with rows of colorful flowers now overgrown with weeds everything dead, flat and colorless. The swimming pool covered with a sagging black tarp empty like a deep black hole in the ground.

They think the mansion once belonged to a rich recluse who rarely ventured out and wanted to rid himself of the world. The house itself had to be over fifty thousand square feet not including the guest, caretakers houses, and the barn. The property several hundred acres. It had been abandoned for many years.

Earlier they had walked some of the grounds fortifying it where they could finding trails, covering trails, and coming up with a quick escape plan if needed. There was a twenty foot stone wall surrounding a portion of the property crumbling in places and secure in others. The main house is vacant sparsely furnished covered in dust and sheets, decay everywhere, yet still with a sturdy foundation and roof. They hadn't gotten around to exploring every room. How it had remained uninhabited this long, she didn't know.

"Have you ever read Sun Tzu, Charlotte?" Bass asks low into her ear coming up behind her pretending to attack.

"Who?" Charlie smiles breathlessly her stomach fluttering. She leans back fully against him savoring his touch then pushes off attacking him with her sword.

"Ancient Chinese military general that wrote The Art of War. 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.' 'Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.' 'All warfare is based on deception.' "

Miles laughs. "I think _General_ Monroe here failed at one of Sun Tzu's most important strategies: 'A leader leads by example, not by force.'"

Bass looks at him. "I learned from the best." _From you, Miles._

The clouds grow dark. A storm approaches. Bass and Charlie don't seem to notice. They continue to practice forgetting Miles is there. She lets slip some long lingering touches and looks and he snaps at her telling her to concentrate and she replies by winking at him.

They go into a challenging set and the rain starts to fall. They hardly notice. Miles tries to get their attention and when that doesn't work he rolls his eyes, mumbles something under his breath and leaves them. They continue.

The rain falls harder. It's a warm day so it feels...nice. They're soaked and continue to challenge each other the clashing sound of the swords echoing both panting from exertion. It's pouring down the rain and finally Bass has enough. He throws down his swords and drags her into his arms kissing her. A long hot deep passionate kiss that takes her breath away. Charlie's arms fall to her sides still holding the swords as Bass' hands come up to grab her face and devour her mouth. She drops the swords and her arms circle around his neck all in full view of both Miles and Rachel standing in the bay window gaping at them.


	15. Chapter 15

Bass is pulling her down the long hallway his hand in hers. Their boots echoing against the marble floor. She's trying to keep up with him without being flat out dragged.

"I want you to see this," he says smiling looking back at her continuing to pull her to the end of the hall enthusiastically.

"There are times when you act like an eager little boy instead of the old man you are," she chuckles.

"Ha. Ha." He laughs sarcastically. "Only with you," he adds softly.

Her heart skips a beat.

They stop at the end of the hallway.

"Dead end, Bass. REALLY fascinating." She's smiling at him.

"I was outside looking at the house earlier and noticed something. There is another room in this house. Another very large room that I couldn't find the door until I looked here." He moves his hand to a corner of a groove in the wall and pushes. The wall moves back opening into another room. "It's a false wall."

Bass takes her hand and pulls her into a huge room. This room is unlike the rest of the rooms in the house. It is more lived in. Comfortable and not so cold. Dusty, but not as extreme as the rest of the house. There are several overstuffed chairs and large sofas including several chaise lounges. Thick fur rugs covering the floor. Warm colors of browns, beiges, and golds. Another dark oversized fireplace with a tea kettle. A big desk filled with books and papers and an old fashioned typewriter. There is another huge window several stories high the late afternoon sun fading across the room. Looking up into the shadows it's then she notices. Books. And more books. Several stories high filled with rows and rows of books. Beautiful wonderful books.

A wide smile spreads across her face. She looks at Bass. He's grinning at her. They both start laughing in delight. "Right?" Bass asks.

"Why would someone want to hide this?"

"I don't know. You can't see anything from the outside in through the window. There is a panic room behind this wall here and…" he goes to the nearest wall and moves the bookshelf to the side revealing a large steel door "...it's locked."

"What's a panic room?"

"A safe room. Shelter or hiding place invulnerable to attack. A command and control center where you can run security. I'm thinking this safe room may have become this man's tomb."

"That's kind of...creepy." She goes to the desk and looks at the paper sticking out of the typewriter. " 'I long for death. In the last words of my favorite author: "I've had 18 straight whiskies . . . I think that's the record." "And death shall have no dominion." ' "Who said that?"

"Dylan Thomas," Bass says still looking over the wall trying to find a way into the room his back to her.

_" 'And death shall have no dominion._  
_Dead man naked they shall be one_  
_With the man in the wind and the west moon; _  
_When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,_  
_They shall have stars at elbow and foot; _  
_Though they go mad they shall be sane,_  
_Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; _  
_Though lovers be lost love shall not; _  
_And death shall have no dominion. ' _Blah, blah, blah," his hands moving along the grooves of the walls looking for a release for the door.

Charlie smiles at his back then goes to one of the closest doors and opens it. There is a pantry sparsely filled with can food, various sundries, candles, clothes, and whiskey. Lots and lots of whiskey.

Bass comes up behind her. "A Dylan Thomas wannabe down to his liquor." He picks up a bottle. "This is high price whiskey. Have you ever had a single malt scotch?" She is moving away from him not paying attention. "Miles is going to love this," he mumbles.

She's already making her way up the spiral staircase to the second floor to look through the rows and rows of books.

* * *

"I need to talk to you."

"Well...that can't be good."

"Miles..." Rachel sits down beside him. She takes a long breath.

"I have to tell you something."

"No, you don't." He's not looking at her.

"Miles, yes, I do."

"Rachel, really, no you don't." He grabs her hand lacing his fingers in his own.

"It's about Charlie."

"No, you really, really don't, Rachel."

He continues to avoid her eyes looking out over the desolate garden through the big bay window.

"Oh my god. You know, don't you?"

"I'm not an idiot, Rachel. I think it's best we leave things...unsaid."

"Best for whom, Miles? Charlie? You? Me?"

"Yes."

"It was Ben. He told you didn't he?"

Miles sighs. He gets up and looks at her. "I don't want to talk about it." He walks off.

* * *

"Hey, pal. Come see this." Bass comes up behind Miles.

"What do you want, Bass?"

Miles follows him down the hall into the hidden library. He looks up and around seeing Charlie on the second floor sitting on the floor against the shelf with a book in her hand reading.

Bass shows him the safe room. "I can't find a way to open it."

"There is probably a manual latch override on the outside. We just have to find it."

Bass hands him the bottle of Glenfiddich. "He has an entire pantry full of Macallans, Chivas, Jack, Wild Turkey and more."

"Nice."

They spend the next hour trying to open the safe room. Rachel and Aaron join them delving into the nooks and crannies of the library. Aaron's not in the room fifteen minutes when he finds the latch. "Is this what you're looking for?" The latch was an old ship's wheel made to appear like a piece of antique decor not even connected to the wall, but a pedestal on the opposite side of the room. The inscription read:

_"Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, _  
_Time held me green and dying _  
_Though I sang in my chains like the sea." _

Bass and Miles look at each other then back at him. They snap the fixtures and crank the wheel and the door slowly slides open a hiss of air follows.

The room is not as large as the library. It's dark. Stale air. Charlie hands Miles a candle. On one side are security monitors and computers dark and dusty. On the other side of the room is a wall loaded with weapons: AKs, Berettas, Bushmasters, SIGs, nine millimeters...a wall full of weapons any paranoid billionaire recluse would have. In the back of the room on a small cot was the man in question and his desiccated corpse. He appeared to have simply went to sleep with a Glock in one hand and a bottle of Glenlivet in the other.

"Well...that's one way to die," Miles takes the gun and checks the chamber and clip.

Miles and Bass wraps the corpse in a blanket and takes him outside. "We'll give him a proper burial tomorrow."

Miles opens the Glenfiddich and pours them all a drink. "This has to be a $40 thousand bottle of whiskey. Well...who knows what that price is now. To Mr. Paranoid Billionaire who was probably some hedge fund crook that bilked people out of all their hard earned money..."

"But had exquisite taste in whiskey," Bass adds.

"And books," Charlie adds.

They take the first sip then down the rest in one gulp. "Very nice," Miles pours another.

Aaron starts coughing. Bass slaps him on the back. "You okay there, buddy?"

Some time later, Charlie has her sixth? Seventh glass? And she's watching Bass. He has been avoiding her besides the minor occasional interactions where they're usually heated and snarky playing their little mind and verbal games. By the time they're finished, both are ready to jump the other. Yet, it's always Bass that pulls away leaving her there wanting more. They have not spent a night alone together since they were in town and it's not like she hasn't tried. Lately he always finds a way to pull away from her. She knows why. She's just avoiding thinking about it.

This afternoon when he came to her and showed her this room, she thought it was going to be different. It is not. He continues to avoid her even now. Although, she catches him watching her and she can feel his eyes on her when she's not looking.

Miles and Bass are talking about old times. Apparently, Miles is avoiding Rachel and Bass is avoiding her. Men.

She's good and drunk now so she grabs a bottle and walks over to her mom and reaches down for her hand. "Come on, mom. Let's go do some bonding."

Bass is looking at her as he takes a drink. His expression shows very little.

Rachel grabs a candle and they make their way through the dark house. They go to the big bay window and sit in the floor in front of it looking into the pitch black night. Charlie passes her the bottle.

"Have you noticed that we drink a lot of alcohol?"

"If it feels good, do it," Charlie snickers. "Embracing hedonism since ninety-five percent of the rest of our time we're knee deep in death, destruction...and denial."

"How are you so cynical?"

"Like mother…"

"Like daughter," they both say together laughing.

"You're really not so cynical."

"Yes. I'm a beacon of hope and optimism," she laughs sarcastically. "I've been told that cynics are passionately frustrated romantics."

"Who told you that?" Charlie gave her a sideways look. "Oh." Rachel pauses. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You want to help me with my man problem?"

"Well..."

"Why not? We seem to be in the same boat."

"We are not in...anyway close to even being in the same...ocean," Rachel says laughing.

"I think I'm falling in love with him," she laughs. "How ironic is that?"

Rachel looks away. "Oh."

Neither of them say anything for the longest time.

"I have learned a lot in the past year. Like how negative emotions can blind us and what you see isn't always what is. How a person that appears to be one dimensional has many layers and if you peel them back, what lies beneath is…"

"So much more," Rachel finishes for her quietly.

"For example, I never would have guessed that my parents orchestrated one of the most disastrous events in human history."

"Ouch," Rachel says softly. "I see you're picking up Miles' brutal honesty. More irony for me to swallow," she mumbles.

Charlie continues on ignoring her. "Or that my Uncle Miles is _General_ Miles Matheson, the butcher of Baltimore. Yes, peeling back those layers," she laughs taking a long drink from the bottle. "Now, shall we talk about that _brutal dictator_ or _ruthless war criminal_? The one that has saved my life multiple times. That comes back for me when I need him. The one who took better care of me when I was wounded than anyone has in a long time. The one who acts like an eager little boy when he gets excited. How he pushes my hair behind my ear...or kisses me...or sings to me…or recites poetry...THAT one. I can't believe I was ever so shallow to only see that part of him."

Rachel sighs. "Charlie, you're so young."

"Then why do I feel so old...except when I'm with him?"

Rachel is quiet for a long time. "Miles told me who and where his son is...or was. He told me that he lost touch with him when he left Chicago with you."

Charlie's head jerks around to her. "Where was he?"


	16. Chapter 16

28 Days later

" 'If you kill Monroe, it's the same as killing my father.' And here I thought you were being metaphorical." She slides onto the stool next to him and motions to the barkeep for a drink.

"You again?" Adam looks around.

"He's not with me."

He looks at her solemnly. "Did you kill him?"

Charlie laughs looking down at her drink then swallows it in one swallow. "He was executed by the Patriots and we brought him back to life."

He frowns confused. "Huh?"

"Why didn't you say something? You do know he's been looking for you, right?"

"My murdering psychotic general of a father is looking for me one who I might add was responsible for my mom's death not to mention dropping the bombs and I'm supposed to what? Say 'hi, dad, here I am'? No. I wanted to turn him over to the Patriots and avenge my mother, but you helped him escape. Thanks for that by the way."

"He didn't kill your mom and he had nothing to do with the bombs. I mean, yes, he was there when your mom was killed and there is some debate about him being culpable, but he didn't pull the trigger. I was there."

Adam looks at her. "You were there?"

"Yes, me and my Uncle Miles. Some trigger friendly Georgian soldier shot her then Miles shot him." Charlie didn't bother telling him if Miles had not stopped her, she would have taken both Emma and Monroe out at the time.

Monroe. She laughs. She's separated Monroe the psychotic general from Bass the one that gives her that shy charming crooked smile and worships her with his mouth. She misses that smile and mouth. _Deep breath, Charlie._

"What?"

She motions for another drink. "Complications. Life was so much easier a year ago. What do you know about the Patriots?"

"What I know, I told you. Although lately it seems like they're everywhere and…" he leans in closer to her. "...they're not too friendly. And what do you mean he didn't drop the bombs?"

She ignores his question. "How do you mean?"

"They move into a town and lock it down when someone or something gets out of control. They restrict freedoms and people who complain go missing never to be heard from again. People are starting to worry and are scared."

"It's only going to get worse."

"Are you serious? How would you know?"

"I know. Listen, I'm tired. I haven't slept for days trying to track your ass. Do you think it's possible that you stay in one place until we can talk?" Charlie just wants to sleep. "Is there like a rooming house nearby?"

"Yeah, at the end of the street on the right. What's all this about and where is Monroe? And I don't even know your name?"

"Are you staying at the rooming house?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll answer your questions in the morning. I'm dead tired."

She walks away from the bar up the street. It's been pouring rain for hours and the streets are flooded and muddy. It's dark and they're empty gas street lanterns lighting the way. It's still raining at a steady pace. She stops and turns her face up to the sky feeling it wash over her. It's nice. She's always loved standing in the rain. Even more so since it makes her think of Bass. She smiles her head back and eyes closed.

The pain rushes through her remembering the last time they spoke about a month ago and suddenly just like that he's there. She has this supernatural ability to sense when he's near and sure enough, he's walking towards her on the street rain falling steady around them. The emotions that run through her shake her. She can feel the tears and it pisses her off. She stops herself from running to him. Her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands. He stops about six feet away from her. He's mad. His jaw clenched, but his eyes tell another story. Relief. Gratefulness. Affection. Longing. Possibly something else?

A wave of anger and hurt wash over her. She's pissed at him for making her feel this way. _Nothing lasts forever. Everyone leaves._ She knows this as sure as the sun will rise in the morning. Why in the fuck's sake did he follow her? She should've figured he would. Still...

She walks up to him and slugs him. He takes the hit on the cheek the blow snapping his head back slightly so she hits him again and again tears running down her face mixed with raindrops. She doesn't stop and after another few hits he's finally had enough.

"Stop it, Charlie." He tries grabbing her by the arms and she jerks away from him. Just then Adam comes out of nowhere to her aid sending a fist into Bass's jaw staggering him. The two of them start fighting and when Charlie gets in between them to stop, she's knocked to the ground hitting her head knocking her unconscious.

"Charlie?" Bass kneels down to her pushing her wet hair out of her eyes.

"Is she okay?" Adam asks bending down beside him.

Bass doesn't say anything to him. He picks her up and takes her to the rooming house leaving Adam standing in the road. An hour later, she's still unconscious. He has Charlotte out of her wet clothes and into bed waiting for her to wake up. He's trying not to panic.

He gets up to answer the knock at the door. He opens it and there stands Adam. He looks into the room seeing Charlie on the bed.

"Is she okay?"

Bass motions him into the room looking around to see if he was followed.

"She's still unconscious."

"Does she need a doctor?" Adam seems genuinely concerned.

"It's been my experience that they'll come round eventually. She has a strong pulse...and a hard head." He's exhausted and worried. Tracking Charlotte had not been easy. She had been really good at covering her trail this time. He had been too many days without sleep and without her crazy with concern.

"You're worried about her?" Adam says surprised and confused. "She'd just got through telling me she hadn't slept in days so maybe it's a bit of both."

Bass looks at him eyeing him up and down. His son. A range of emotions roll through him none of which he can hold onto because of exhaustion. If it hadn't been for Charlotte, he would've killed the kid. Christ. He doesn't want to think about it.

He motions to the table on the other side of the room. "Drink?"

Adam seems cautious. He nods moving towards the table taking a seat opposite Bass.

Bass takes a drink. "Should I be worried you're going to send the Patriots in here after me to collect your bounty?"

Adam looks back at Charlotte. "No. Not yet. She said she had something to talk to me about. I'll wait till I hear her out." He takes a drink. "She was defending you and how that happened after she told me that you killed half her family...I guess I'm curious. My mother always told me to not judge before I knew all the facts."

Emma. A sadness crawls across his heart. He sighs and laughs low looking over at Charlotte taking a drink. Charlotte. It was just a month ago that she seduced him, told him "nothing lasts forever", and locked him in that black pit of a wine cellar where Miles found him two days later. Miles then proceeded to beat the shit out of him for _"hurting Charlie"_ and making her run off. He still has the bruises.

"Well?" Adam asks.

"Kid, if I'd known about you, both our lives would've been different."


	17. Chapter 17

28 days...or so...earlier

He went. He was curious. He couldn't deny a part of him, or all of him, wanted to be alone with her. Always wants to be alone with her. He'd been avoiding her. He didn't wanna. He did it for her...or that's what he likes to tell himself. She makes him feel...vulnerable and he is...afraid to be that again.

Miles was right. She reminds him of what he used to be and what he wanted so desperately to be again. That guy is dead. Murdered long ago by the brutality of an indifferent universe one predisposed to fuck you over when you're down and keep beating the fuck out of you until you're so crushed and bloody you can't possibly rise again.

So, yeah, call him a fucking coward. He'd been called worse. He'll own it. Before he'd feel the fear and do it anyways. This? This is something without rules. Without...strategy. He could always jump and learn to fly on the way down. He done it before and knew you sometimes had to, but this? He isn't willing to risk her.

He makes his way down the stairs below the kitchen into the dark pit of the house. He moves into the room the candle dropping hot wax onto his hand and he's not really noticing. Physical pain had always been so much easier to deal than the mental pain. He'd learned that long ago.

There are lit candles strategically and safely spread throughout the room lighting the entrance fairly well tables, chairs, bar, stools, and more tables at the front. It is a massive stone wine cellar. The back is lost in the shadows down deep cavernous tunnels lined with racks loaded with bottles and bottles of wine. This man loved his alcohol. There are crates and crates of wine as well as boxes of beer stored, stacked, and displayed. Everywhere. The cellar had to be as big as the above kitchen, dining, and oversized living room combined.

If they chose to they could live out their days hiding and drinking themselves to death. Live in a house with Charlotte and massive amounts of alcohol? For the rest of his life? With Miles and Rachel down the hall? And Stay Puft? Weirder things could happen. They had thus far.

He smiles. Forever is a long time and one he had never really subscribed to. He had lived day by day, minute by minute for so long now. Forever was a fairytale. Much like destiny. He didn't do destiny...and he didn't do forevers no matter what stuttering sparks of hope plagued him in the blackest corners of his mind whenever he thought of her.

He moves into the room setting the candle down on a crate. The door closes softly behind him. He turns. She is leaning against the door. In a dress. In a fucking dress. All he sees is skin...and legs. Very nice, very long legs...and breasts wrapped in a classic little black dress that would put Audrey Hepburn to shame.

He smiles leaning back on the table arms and legs crossed looking her up and down then away around the room gathering his composure preparing to do battle."New threads?"

"I found an entire closet full of this stuff upstairs." She moves into the room twirling the dress flaring up...way up giving him a not so subtle peek. "I never thought I would have to resort to such audacious tricks to get you alone."

He laughs outright. "Charlotte, you are the epitome of audaciousness. Besides Miles, you have bigger brass than anyone I've ever known."

"Yeah, well, it sounded good when I rehearsed it. I guess I'm just not the timid type." She smooths her hands down the front picking up the sides curtsying. "Do you like it? It's a bit tight…" she adjusts her breasts that are practically spilling out through the deep v of the dress in front "...in areas and…" lifting the skirt "...short in others."

"No, you're not timid not...even when you blush," he adds softly. They stare at each other for what seemed an eternity. "Why am I here, Charlotte?"

It is her turn to laugh outright. She walks right up to him invading his personal space. She is good at that. "For someone so smart, you sure can be dumb sometimes." He moves away from her to the closest stack of crates. Safety in space from her.

She hops up onto what looks like a narrow sofa table pulling the skirt of the dress farther up her thighs. She grabs a bottle of wine from the nearest rack putting it between her legs trying like hell to uncork it with a corkscrew not in the least successful.

Bass moves in front of her taking the corkscrew out of her hands leaving the bottle between her legs. "You can hit a man with an arrow between the eyes at 80 yards and this is what you have trouble with? You're going to kill yourself with this." He uncorks it easily placing the corkscrew aside.

She takes a big drink. A little dribbles out her lips down her chin. He can't take his eyes from the red drop as it makes its way down her chin.

"I like it. It isn't like the last bottle of red wine I had. This one isn't as…" she stops talking noticing he isn't paying attention to her. His eyes on her lips then her chin leaning into her. "...bitter," she finishes softly.

She hands him the bottle. He takes a big drink. She wraps her legs around his legs pulling him closer to the table scooting her butt to the edge. "We're a slow burn," she whispers inches away from his lips.

She sticks her tongue out to wet her lips and bites her lower one. "A slow burn, huh?" He puts the bottle aside grabbing her wrists pushing them back behind her. He leans her back slightly till she's against one of the racks at the back of the narrow table. His mouth hovering right above her lips his tongue coming out to slowly lick the path of the wine that had traveled down her lips and chin. He continues down her neck sucking her pulse on down his tongue kissing and tasting her collarbone and lower deep into the v of her dress and the swell of her breasts.

He removes his hands from her wrists and places them on her thighs when she starts to move her hands towards him. "No hands," he smirks in a low voice just above her lips his eyes calm and deadly. The look he uses when he's dangerous.

She licks her lips. "Okay."

"No, no 'okay'. No hands. Understand?" He hovers above her lips his breath feathering across them.

She swallows. "Yes."

He traces back over the wet path moving between her breasts sucking and nipping. His hands moving up her thighs pushing the dress higher.

Charlie is dizzy. Her breathing erratic. Her breasts ache. Her head falls back as his mouth continues to worship her slowly. He moves his hands up the outside of her thighs under her dress. She's not wearing any panties and he seems to like it. Immensely. He latches onto her pulling her forward into his hips and his erection kneading her into him. Taking her lips, his tongue finds hers for a long thorough kiss leaving her breathless.

He pulls the dress down off the shoulders to her waist exposing her breasts. Pushing her back he wraps his mouth around a nipple moving his hips in between her legs rubbing against her feeling her hot wetness through his jeans, she lets out a low groan and moves her hands into his hair clutching his mouth to her breast. He looks up at her smiling laughing pulling her back to him saying against her lips "I knew you couldn't do it" before taking her mouth in his again.

"Shut up." She reaches down unbuttoning his shirt and running her hands down his chest.

She unzips him and starts to reach for him. He grabs her hands stopping her. He looks at her cupping her face in his hands and gently kisses her on the lips the intensity of emotion in his eyes scaring her. _Nothing lasts forever, Charlie. Everyone leaves._ She closes her eyes trying to quiet the thoughts and the fear that suddenly envelopes her and that's when he enters her gripping her hips and thrusting so hard intercepting her gasp with his mouth. He pulls all the way out and hesitates before entering her again teasing her slowly time after time. Thrust after thrust.

She makes a move to brace her legs to move faster and harder into him.

"Stop." She stops.

He pushes her back pulls her legs up her feet resting on the edge of the table. His hands gripping her hips pulling her closer into him looking down at her slowly thrusting into her. Leaning down to take a breast into his mouth sucking, gripping her hips rolling and circling hitting the sweet spot so many times taking her to the edge three times before slowing and even stopping once to slowly consume her with his mouth before starting to drive into her again.

They're both sweating. His shirt hanging open off one shoulder. His jeans falling to his knees. Her dressed bunched around her waist. The smell of sex mingling with the cool air of the cellar. His jaw clenched. Their eyes barely open in a haze of passion. Their grunts and gasps echoing through the deep caverns. His grip on her hips gets tighter when she starts squirming. He pulls her legs down wrapping them around him.

"Bass," she gasps. She's in pain. Physical fucking pain. "I need...you."

He stops. He pulls her up to him. "Say it again," he says looking into her eyes nipping at her lips.

She leans forward taking his face in her hands staring deep into his eyes. "Bass. I need you." She kisses him sucking on his tongue and he lets himself loose pounding into her faster, harder, and deeper. She shatters with an intensity head and body falling back arching saying his name over and over again the power of the orgasm shaking her feeling him climaxing hard while deep within her gripping her hips tightly holding her into him groaning.

Bass leans on the table with both hands not trusting his wobbly legs looking at her. She's looking at him and for the first time ever, he sees fear in Charlotte's face. Fear. The same girl that faced down Strausser. The same girl that faced eight men ready to tear her to shreds. That same girl that has shown no fear whatsoever is now looking at him like she's frightened to death.

He pulls her up wrapping his arms around her tightly for the longest time rubbing his hand up and down her hair and back. He can feel her pulling away mentally. He pulls her face back and there that lone tear is again. He's afraid to ask why this time. She's already ahead of him.

"Nothing lasts forever. Everyone leaves."

Her words hit him like a punch in the gut. Not one of those playful punches either. One of those gut wrenching teeth grinding tearful twisting ball pounding gasping for breath punches that have you wishing you were dead. It doesn't matter that he was just telling himself that earlier. She's saying it to his face. Expressionless. Indifferent. Cold. It's like she's already moved on. She's not here anymore. A deep ache takes hold of his heart and squeezes. A black pit of misery opening up in his stomach. He takes a deep breath trying to gather his wits.

His thumb tracing her lip and her jaw, she pulls herself away and starts putting herself back together fixing her dress. "Can you wait right here? I need to go get you something?"

He's frowning. Not thinking. Not understanding. Trying to pull himself together. "Of course."

She's back ten minutes later with a pitcher of water and some food. Now he's frowning even more suspicion and coherent thoughts start returning to his dazed brain. He has his back to her looking at the food and water. "What's going on, Charlie?" But she's gone. She's gone and locked him into this dark pit of wine cellar where the smell of their sex still lingers and the physical intensity of it is still weakening his legs. The ache in his heart feels like he's having a fucking heart attack.

2 days later after yelling till he was hoarse and pounding on the door until his hands bled, Miles shows up and punches him.

"I warned you, Bass. This is for hurting Charlie."

Bass takes it. He deserves it. "Where is she?"

"She left. Headed out two days ago. I didn't even know till today. Rachel told me and then she told me Charlie locked you down here." Miles hits him again. That one hurts and he's sure he has broken his nose again. At the very least cracked it.

"Where did she go?"

Miles hits him in the stomach. Bass doubles over. "You'll find this REALLY amusing. She's going after your son. Apparently, her and Rachel had a long talk the other night. Rachel spilled everything I told her and guess what they realized? You and Charlie had a run in with Bass, jr."

"What?" Bass is confused. "When? Where?"

Miles laughs and hits him in the jaw again. Bass falls to the floor blood dripping from his mouth. "You almost killed your own kid, ya prick. He's a bounty hunter, idiot. His name is Adam. Tall, brown hair, blue eyes...sound familiar? Used to hang with a Russian named Sergei. Oh, that's right. You killed him." He hits him again. Miles flexes his hand. "I'm getting too old for this shit." He sits on the floor next to Bass leaning against a wine rack.

"I have to go after her."

"You damn right you do and if you don't bring them both back here alive and happy, I will hunt you down and fillet you with a dull pairing knife and disembowel you with a teaspoon. I swear to god I will."

Bass can feel his jaw and eye swelling. He looks at Miles. "Okay."


	18. Chapter 18

The Next Morning *soundtrack: Sirens - Pearl Jam*

She opens her eyes. He's there. Across from her. Asleep. On his side. Facing her. Hands curled under his pillow. Much like her own. Both of them nude. The sheet is covering them both just below the waste. He's peaceful. His mouth open. His breathing is even. Golden sunlight pushes across the room still in the very early morning hours. There is a slight chill in the air. Nothing worth disturbing the moment over. Even her breathing almost comes to a stop.

_This is one of those moments, Charlie. One of those moments when you're older and you look back on your life. It's these moments right here that you will remember most. Of course there are the other moments: the first kiss, the first time and all the other firsts, but it's these moments that you'll cherish,_ she tells herself.

The night before is kind of a haze. She remembers. Slowly. Adam. The bar. Bass. The fight. Her headache mild.

She continues looking at Bass. He has faded bruises across his face. She can guess who put those there. She sure as hell didn't. She probably just busted his lip, if that.

Those lips. She's remembering those lips on hers. On her body. Her breasts...and...elsewhere. The wonders that man can do with his mouth. His kisses turn her into a depraved wanton freak of an addict. Half the time she is with him, she's thinking about his mouth and what it could do to her. She thought she had gained some willpower in their time apart from each other. She's wrong. When it isn't his mouth - those lips and that wickedly charming smile - it's those eyes that can see right through her. Analyzing each and every thought.

She licks her lips - a habit she's gotten into lately after staring at his - her gaze moving back up to his eyes and her breath catches. He's awake and staring right at her his eyes heavy with a hunger for a split second before he quickly covers it with that calm deadly expression that she's sure his enemies see right before he takes them out. She's noticed that he tends to do that with her after an unguarded vulnerable moment like he's trying to hide something. She figures it's his armor much like her own. Remove yourself from the moment. Compartmentalize. Guard those private emotions and it doesn't quite...hurt as much when and if you have to do what you have to do.

They stare at each other for the longest time. Neither saying a word. His expression opens some and she can tell that he's glad she's awake by the softening of the lines around his eyes and mouth. His eyes are doing the once over and linger a little too long on her chest. She smiles. Men. So predictable when it comes to breasts. Her arms are pretty much covering her, but that didn't stop him from looking. Hard. His eyes bounce back up to her lips noticing her smile. Out comes that wickedly charming smile. The one that totally staggers her every time. She remembers the first time she saw that smile; she was shocked as hell the man had teeth. Really nice white teeth and the sincerest smile that made her knees weak. She was sure he would've had a forked tongue and a mouthful of rotten teeth with putrid stinky breath. No such luck.

The sun is now shining full on her making her want to stretch like a cat in the sun. She holds steady not wanting to spoil this moment. His hand reaches across the bed and pushes the hair behind her ear gently. The backs of his fingers sliding down her jaw to the bed and he grabs her hand lacing his fingers through hers. He tries pulling her to him, she grins staying put pulling back. _I know what you want_, her eyes say.

He chuckles. He pulls her hand up to his mouth kissing it softly putting it under his head under the pillow. His eyes drifting once more to her chest. She laughs rolling her eyes. _You are so transparent._

She doesn't want to think about all the other _stuff_. It's too much. She wants this moment. Who cares about the rest right now. Maybe that's what she should do instead of all the other angst bullshit that plagues her. Most of the time she's good at focusing on the present grabbing happiness when she can except when she's with him and that little annoying spark of insecurity flashes into a full blown neurotic meltdown. It's not like she does it intentionally. It's just...there. She hates it.

Noticing her frown, he squeezes her hand to get her attention. _Stop thinking_, his eyes say. He looks at her lips then back up to her eyes.

"Thank you, Charlotte," he says in his low seductive extremely potent morning voice along with that smile making her breath skip. She throws up her eyebrows in question. "Adam," he says simply. She understands. If he would've killed Adam, she hates to think what it would've done to him. She takes a deep breath and gives a small nod pulling his hand back to her and putting it under her head.

He leans over on his elbows and kisses her softly. Lightly. He moves to her ear. "Don't ever leave me again. No matter where you go in this world, I will find you," he whispers moving back looking her in the eye with that deadly Monroe expression. He kisses her on the forehead pulling back moving into his earlier position only inches away from her then smiles with one of the most tender expressions he's ever given her.

As contrary and perverse as their relationship has been, this makes her smile...and warms her heart like he's just branded her as his more so than that nasty symbol on her wrist. Her emotions so ridiculously opposite to what she thought her reaction would be if ANY man EVER would have the nerve to say something like that to her, she smiles laughing.

"You are complicated and capricious," he laughs.

"And contrary," she adds smiling. She looks at his face and all that fear just goes away.


	19. Chapter 19

"You're sure he's not compromised?" Bass asks her.

She looks back at him. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

He smiles. His back to her. "Smart ass."

"Dick."

"You know, we still have time…"

"Move on. It ain't happening." He'd been trying to get into her pants ever since he woke up. She is trying to gain some self control and respect around the man instead of wanting to rut him every chance she got. He isn't making it easy.

He grabs her, spinning her around kissing her pressing his body up against hers rough and hard her lower back biting into the dresser. His mouth open, wet, hot, and diving into every deep dark untouched corner of her mouth only he could find. His hands gripping her face sliding deliberate and slow down her neck her chest shadowing her breasts sliding farther to her hips pulling her roughly into him. He goes on that way for what feels like eternity. He pulls back slightly. His lips moist and hot still against hers both panting his voice husky with desire. "That's too bad." Smirking he walks off casually and cocky out of the room leaving her leaning back clutching the dresser for balance till her legs can stop shaking. "Fuck."

Hours later Adam is sitting with them at a small table in the far shadowy corner of a rather crude eating and drinking establishment. He's gaping at them. "You're serious with this?"

"I told you he wouldn't believe us."

"You're so convincing." She's mocking him her head tilted smiling looking at his lips. She wants payback. Her body is still thrumming from that little encounter this morning.

Leaning back in his chair chin in hand looking at her smiling the tip of his finger moving back and forth across his lips his tongue coming out occasionally to moisten the tip, he winks at her.

Charlie throws him her sinful crooked grin. _Game on._

Bass laughs. _This girl. Where had she been his whole life._

Adam is across the table looking back and forth to both of them frowning with confusion eyebrows up quizzical. "So, what do we do?"

Charlie and Bass lean forward elbows on table. "We don't have a plan yet, but we're asking you to join our little…" he looks at Charlie them back to Adam "...dysfunctional family of miscreants to...misbehave. Rebel. Fight. Antagonize. Dissent. Resist."

"Okay, alright. I get it," Adam throws up his hands.

"Since, you know, you're already in the family." Bass looks at him with one of his few openly honestly unguarded expressions of tenderness.

Adam looks at Bass. "Not by choice."

He deserved that he supposes staring at the kid.

Charlie is looking between them. "You're coming with us," she says to Adam like it's already been decided.

Adam smiling looks at her. "Does anyone ever say no to you?"

Bass laughs. "Yes, but it goes in one ear and out the other side of that extremely hard perverse head." He's looking at her with that same unguarded expression of tenderness.

Charlie tilts her head looking at him with affection. "Are you getting soft on us, Monroe?"

Bass is at a loss. She's never called him Monroe while looking at him like that. He feels her hand under the table inching slowly up his inner thigh closing in on his cock. He smiles. He puts his hand over hers and moves it to his rock hard erection.

Charlie looks into his eyes.

"I've been this way for a month," he says low no longer smiling and raw lust hits her full on and extreme.

"What?" Adam is looking between them in confusion again oblivious to what's happening under the table.

Charlie jerks her hand back standing up. "We leave in an hour." She walks off leaving them sitting there.

"Bossy brat, isn't she?"

Bass laughs. "You have no idea."

Adam gets up to leave. "Are you coming?"

"I wish," he says low. The poor kid has that confused look again. "I'll be along...shortly. I need a minute."

Several hours later, they're hiking. No luck getting horses. They'll have to make do along the way. Charlie's in lead. Adam in the middle and Bass bringing up the rear. No one has spoken for a while. Adam falls back alongside Bass.

"So, I never heard what made her change her mind about you since you murdered half her family and all?" He's looking at Bass for some kind of response and he's not going to get any. He has no answer to that for the kid because he's wondered it many, many times himself. He thinks of the pain he has caused her and it squeezes his gut. He looks down and away.

Charlie doesn't answer for a long time. "War. Choice. Cause and effect. Circumstance. Kill or be killed. It's the nature of the game and the time we live. Bad things, they just happen. It is what it is. Besides, it wasn't like he pulled the trigger himself."

Bass swallows Charlie's words like acid. Painfully. He recalls saying something like that himself except what happened to him turned him into...what did Miles call it? Dark and psychotic? Not Charlie. She's a better person than he is. He can't keep the raw emotion from his face. He's sure Adam sees it.

"Oh."

A few days later while sitting around a fire after night has fallen, Adam has his revelation. "Wait a minute. I think I've got it." The look on his face is comical.

Bass and Charlie exchange looks. They had pretty much stayed away from one another both in incredibly bad moods snapping and barking at each other and poor Adam totally confused and taking the brunt of it.

"How old are you, Charlie?"

Bass laughs. "Kid, I'm going to give you my first fatherly advice. Never, ever ask a woman her age."

Adam goes on ignoring him. "You've got to be younger than me I'm guessing dear old dad here...well, he's old, but not THAT old," Adam is looking her up and down his gaze lingering on her breasts.

Bass chuckles and Charlie is rolling her eyes. _Like father, like son._ She's surprised he hasn't figured it out earlier the way her and Bass have been eye fucking after one another sexual tension thick in the air. "Your son is slow."

"Wow, old man. Color me impressed. I gotta hand it to ya and I say this seriously..." looking to Charlie "...with the utmost respect," he's smiling. "She's more woman than I could ever handle."

Bass is looking at her with that unguarded tender expression. "You have no idea."


	20. Chapter 20

"So, do you want to be called mom?"

"Not unless you want to be gutted."

Adam laughs. "This is going to be so much fun."

"You should quit while you're ahead, kid." Bass passes her his canteen.

"Am I going to get little brothers and sisters...because that I would actually like."

"Oh, god," Charlie groans. She squelches the anxiety and nausea that image provokes. Perhaps she should've thought this little fling through more before she pursued it. She isn't exactly wife and mother material. It never occurred to her that he would want THAT from her. She's still young. She glances at him.

Bass is looking around. Charlie notices it too. An eeriness. Silence.

"I think we have company." Bass pulls his swords as do Charlie and Adam getting in formation.

They begin to emerge from around them. Their numbers growing. Bass counts eighteen.

Charlie's voice is low and calm. "Put them away. Follow my lead."

Bass looks like he'll argue, but he does not and puts his away. Adam follows.

Charlie steps forward. "We're just passing through."

The horse trots out, its rider tall and slender in her saddle. Long auburn hair in a braid. Brown riding boots to her knees. Jean shorts and a tshirt with 'rEVOLution' written across the front. Sword strapped across her back.

Bass has another look around. They're all women and girls. Most adults. Some teenagers. They're closing ranks around them.

"I'm not sure whether to be scared...or something else." Adam is smiling that goofy ass charming smile.

Charlie rolls her eyes. Their leader whose expression is blank is examining each of them ultimately her eyes come back to Charlie's. She jumps off her horse walking right up to Charlie.

Bass puts her at his age. Light eyes and about an inch taller than Charlie. She walks around Charlie moving towards Bass and Adam looking them up and down.

"Is this him?" She glances at Charlie referring to Bass.

Charlie nods.

"And this is the son?"

"Yup."

She gets in Adam's face after Charlie's affirmative. "He's...cute." Adam smiles.

"He's...alright when he's not annoying." Adam looks at Charlie losing his smile. _Thanks a lot._

She moves to stand in front of Bass. "So, you're the one, huh?"

Bass doesn't say anything. He looks at her then at Charlie.

"Monroe, Adam, meet Duncan."

Several hours later after dark they are ensconced in Duncan's camp drinking and eating dinner around a fire. Bass has yet to say anything. His eyes taking in everything and everyone around him. He tries to stay close to Charlie, but she has other ideas and sticks to Duncan's side.

The two seem to be friends. Close friends like they'd been best friends for years. If Bass didn't know any better, he thinks Duncan is interested in Charlie for more than just friendship the way she looks at her and touches her. Charlie didn't seem to realize it or it didn't really bother her. Regardless, they are safe. Duncan runs a tight clan with sentries posted around the camp rotating hourly. Everyone seems happy, healthy, and well fed. All of them are female.

Bass tries to listen in on their conversation, but is otherwise occupied by the swarm of females around him asking him question upon question batting their eyes and flirting with him brazenly so. He catches Charlotte's eyes across the fire. _Help me._ She laughs at him and continues on with Duncan ignoring him.

Here he sits: Sebastian Monroe. In his day he and Miles were legendary with the ladies and now, he's surrounded by gorgeous women openly flirting with him and the only thing he can think of is that Charlotte's laughing at him while being romanced by a woman his age. He didn't know if he was jealous or concerned or thrilled or...aroused or...what. The girl continues to amaze him.

Meanwhile, Adam is loving life. The kid is enjoying every single minute surrounded by them. He's friendly and the women seem to love him.

The women get bored with Bass' lack of interest and silence. They leave. Most going over to Adam. After a while he comes over to Bass sitting down next to him.

"You ran them all off. They couldn't keep your attention. Not like that one does." He motions to Charlie who is laughing with Duncan and sharing a bottle of whiskey across the way.

"What?"

Adam laughs. "Mom told me you were the biggest flirt and womanizer she ever knew besides Miles Matheson and you haven't been able to take your eyes off of one woman the entire night when there is an entire camp of gorgeous women."

Adam hands him a bottle. Bass takes a drink and hands it back.

"Your mom was a wonderful woman."

That seems to catch Adam off guard. It takes him a minute to respond. "Yes, she was." He's quiet for a few more minutes taking a long drink from the bottle and giving it back to Bass. "You continue to surprise me, Monroe. Other than killing Sergei, which was pretty brutal, I've seen very little of the legendary psychotic general that I had heard so many stories about."

" ' The Phoenix must burn to emerge.' "

"What?"

"Oprah book club selection. Good book; okay movie. Chick flick. It's how I got the women. Talk about something they're interested in and listen."

Adam is staring at him confused. He shakes his head looking back across the fire at Duncan and Charlie. "Apparently, Duncan likes both women and men, but she seems to really like Charlie," he's smiling. "They met up and became fast friends about a month ago." He pauses. "Are we sure Charlie likes...men? I mean, hey, it's cool. Love is love."

Bass laughs. "You're nosey, kid."

"Well, that answers that question," Adam laughs.

"Where did your harem of women go?"

"They're arranging tents for us tonight. They're quiet about it, but I heard a few saying they were heading east and I could've sworn they said they were fighting against the patriots."

That catches Bass' attention. "Really? Do you think you can get more information?"

Adam laughs. "Oh yes." He takes his bottle and leaves...eagerly.

Bass chuckles. He's a good kid. Takes very little seriously, but a good kid. Smart. Kind. Extremely likable. Emma did good. He knew she would have, of course.

A girl approaches him. "Your tent is this one." She points to the one behind him.

"And Charlotte's?" He asks giving her his most charming smile.

The girl laughs and walks off. He looks over at Charlotte and her and Duncan are in a serious discussion heads together. He can't hear a damn thing that's being said.

"That's your plan?"

"Yes."

"It's a good plan. Do you need help?"

Duncan looks at her. "Are you offering?"

Charlie looks over her shoulder at Bass. He's watching them. He has been all night. She turns back to Duncan and takes a deep breath. "How long will it take?"

"We're thinking six months to a year at the most depending on how secure they are." Duncan gets up pulling Charlie with her. "We could use you. We leave for the east coast in two weeks. You know how to find us." Duncan pauses. "If I don't see you again...," she hugs her looking over her shoulder meeting Bass' eyes with a smirk and a silent warning. She kisses Charlie lightly on the lips. "Be happy and be you, doll. Don't let him consume you." She walks off towards her tent leaving Charlie standing there.

Charlie turns to Bass who is sitting by the fire staring at her. She walks over to him and sits cross legged facing his side taking a long drink from her bottle.

"Where did your fan club go?"

"My fan club?" Bass turns towards her taking the bottle from her hand and taking a drink. She watches him lick the whiskey from his lips.

The sexual tension between them is at critical stages. Every look and slight touch between them highly charged and erotic and has her cursing and holding her breath her heart racing. One minute she feels like she's going to suffocate. The next she's squeezing her thighs together eyes closed tight reciting poetry to try and forget about the lust and what her body needs from him. The way he's looking at her now - the way he's always looking at her - has her breasts aching and her blood rushing.

"When I first met Duncan and told her about you, it spread like wildfire and women from all over her clan wanted me to tell them about General Sebastian Monroe."

"And?"

"I told them you rescued orphans from burning buildings and saved cats from trees."

He laughs out loud. "That'll do wonders for my rep."

"And thus created your fan club. They didn't believe me, of course. It was a hard sell," she scoots closer to him crosslegged across from each other their knees touching.

He grasps her hand gripping the neck of the bottle bringing it to his lips taking a long drink then releases her hand slowly dropping and leaving it laying on her thigh. She looks at it then looks back up to him, tilts her head, and smiles her crooked smile. "I told them you wore women's underwear and had a thing for my uncle."

He's looking at her with that big smile not many people get to see both hands on her thighs inching upward leaning closer to her. "And?" His breath feathering across her lips an inch from hers.

"I told them you sat on your ass in your office all day barking orders, drinking tea and eating crumpets," she whispers leaning forward to capture his mouth in hers. She uncrosses her legs and he pulls her onto his lap straddling him kissing him. The bottle drops to the ground forgotten and they spend the next ten minutes reacquainting themselves with each other's lips, tongues, and mouths. After ten minutes, Bass has enough pushing her to her feet and pulling her into the tent where he spends the rest of the night reminding her of why they're so good together.

A week later, they're back at Camp Lay Low. A week after that, she's gone and this time he cannot find her.


	21. Chapter 21

Six Months Later Washington, D.C.

Her boots hit the floor silently making her way through the back of the sketchy bar. The stench making her nose twitch and lip curl. Her long strides making quick work of the small room. Her legs clothed in skin tight black pants. Swords strapped on either side wrapped around each of her thighs. Her long leather coat flapping against her boots covering the swords and the knife at her waist. Her blonde hair in a braid hanging over one shoulder. A long black leather corded necklace lies tucked between her breasts that are wrapped in a brown vest cut low her cleavage suggestively showing. She reaches for the leather cord bringing the silver charm to her mouth and kissing it then tucks it safely back between her breasts.

The room is empty but for one man. His back to her at the small table in the corner.

"I didn't think you'd show."

She comes up behind him putting her arms around him. "Why would you think that?" She purrs into his ear her arms wrap around his front caressing his chest nibbling on his neck.

They're alone. He dismissed his private guards earlier before she entered. He flips her around roughly onto her back on the table in front of him. He wedges himself between her legs and starts kissing her. He forcefully drags his hands down her body squeezing her breasts painfully. He seizes her around the throat looking her up and down amused. "I'm tired of playing games with you and this game has become boring. You are weak. I know who you are. I've known all along."

Charlie doesn't respond. She's learned a response can get you killed. She remains calm allowing him to continue his assault on her body reaching for the knife in her boot.

"You're the black widow that runs with that gang of bitches who's been slaughtering my officers." He gets close to her. His grip on her neck tightening. "Are you here to avenge that Duncan bitch? She didn't go fast. It was long and hard and rough just like I like it and just how you're going to get it." He laughs. "I found it so hot that you'd spread your legs for me knowing I killed your friend and you could stab me in the back while I was inside you. I thought you'd tried to kill me long ago. I was thoroughly delighted you hadn't because I've never had a finer more passionate piece of ass and here I thought you would be a lot more of a challenge."

Charlie's sick of hearing his voice and his incessant rambling. She pulls the knife from her boot sticking it to his jugular drawing blood. "Back off." His reaction is somewhere between shock and more shock. He backs up slightly enough for her to plant her foot squarely in his groin sending him backwards off of her doubling over sucking air in pain. She stands up and pulls herself together putting her knife away and unsheathing her swords.

"I have to tell you, Williams, your voice is annoying and whiny and gets on my last nerve. I don't care how good looking you are. I allowed you to know what I wanted you to know when I wanted you to know it. The deception worked because here you are defenseless. You're the worst lay ever and that wasn't passion, prick. That was disgust and boredom. You wouldn't know how to please a woman if she outright told you and drew you a roadmap."

Charlie strikes across his lower abdomen with both swords. He grabs his stomach blood spurting the horror of his situation only now beginning to show on his face. "And you can consider that bitch…" she pauses to look into his eyes "...avenged by this bitch." She slices his neck open as she turns walking off and never looking back.

* * *

Washington, D.C.

"Monroe and Matheson back together again, eh? Yes, I heard about the woman. They're calling her the black widow."

"How...original," Miles mocks.

"She seduces them then kills them. Say that she's the best and last lay they ever have. No one has any idea what she looks like because she leaves no witnesses."

Miles grimaces and looks over at Bass who is looking out over the crowded bar with no expression. "Do you know where she is or was?" Miles asks.

"She killed General Williams in Chinatown last night. Gutted him then slit his throat in the back of a bar. Said he dismissed his personal guards and even knew it was her, but wanted to taste her so bad he didn't even care. Had been banging her for weeks knowing it was her. He told his men a part of the attraction was fucking her knowing she could put a dagger in his gut."

Bass' whiskey glass shatters in his hand.

Miles looks at him pushing a rag into his hand to stop the bleeding. "You wouldn't by any chance know a Tom or Jason Neville?"

"Yes. Both officers."

"For the Patriots?" Miles and Bass glance at each other. "Do you know where they're located?

"Dupont Circle."

Miles thanks him. He and Bass turn and walk out of the bar.

"We need to find Neville. I don't think he's working for the people that killed his wife. I find that hard to believe." Miles looks at Bass who is busy wrapping his hand around the still bleeding cut.

"You going to be able to hold it together?"

"Yes." He's deadly calm eerily so. He'd been even more so since the rumours started coming in about the black widow.

Six months ago, Charlie had taken Miles aside and told him that she was joining her friend Duncan's clan to work a job against the Patriots. He had been totally against it, but Charlie had her mind set and there was no stopping her. She had failed, however, to tell Bass or Rachel the details only leaving a note and Miles to discuss the specifics. Specifics he didn't have. Bass had gone deadly calm and had been that way ever since. Rachel had been furious with Miles for letting her go.

They tried following her never able to find her or the clan. When word started getting back to them about beautiful women infiltrating and seducing Patriot officers then killing them, they knew she was a part of it. Every time they would get the slightest bit close to her, her trail would disappear. Every time they would take a guess at which officer would be next, they would be wrong. Every lead turned up more questions and no Charlie.

When word got back to them that Duncan and several of her clan had been taken hostage, tortured, and murdered and still no word from Charlie, they all had feared the worse. Bass had disappeared for two days. Miles found him wasted in a corner of a bar a broken man.

Miles pulls up a chair next to him. "What are you doing, buddy? We need to go find Charlie."

Bass starts laughing taking a long drink from his bottle. His eyes and face red. "Leave it to you, Miles, my best friend, my brother, the person I've hated as equally as I've loved, and one of the few people I'd die for...to create the one thing I cannot live without."

"She's not dead, Bass." Miles grabs the bottle out of his hand taking a drink.

"She better not be, Miles because this...I can't live through this again especially with her. You'll be burying me too."

"Shut up. She's not dead."

And that's how Adam found them both. Drowning their sorrows in booze.

"Boo-fucking-hoo. You both need to get off your asses and sober the fuck up. We have to go find Charlie. There is no way she's dead. She's too pigheaded to be dead." He looks at the both of them disgusted. "One question: would she give either of you up for dead?" He pauses looking at the both of them. "Yeah, I thought not." He turned and left them sitting there.

Rachel had never believed Charlie to be dead. "I won't outlive Charlie. That's a promise." That sent an ache through Miles' heart he hadn't quite recovered from and was determined to bring her back to Rachel alive and safe and there was never talk about Charlie being dead again. Then they found out about the black widow.

* * *

Bass dreams about her. He wakes up in the middle of the night reaching for her. They make love. He smells the vanilla on her skin and in her hair. He tastes her lips. Explores her soft skin and remembers that feeling of being inside her and looking into her eyes when he makes her shatter beneath him. Her smile and laughter when they're talking with their eyes and that look she gives him when she thinks he's not looking. When he wakes, the cold harshness of reality slowly emerges. She's not there. The space beside him cold and empty and the ache in his chest returns.

They were inseparable their last week together. He would wake up in the middle of the night and she would be watching him.

"Are you planning on killing me or seducing me?" He would smile at her and pull her into his arms.

She would laugh and say "I don't know...yet" and he would make love to her exhausting her till she slept peacefully wrapped in his arms.

The day before she left, he had found a small silver peace charm. He put it on a leather cord and tied it around her neck.

"What's this?"

"A peace symbol."

The next morning, he woke up to an empty space and the note.

_I need to do this. For me. C_

* * *

"I should've known. Where there is one, there is the other." Tom says his eyes on Monroe after seeing Miles. "Miles. Monroe."

"Tom. Jason. Imagine my surprise learning that you'd joined the Patriots, Tom. The same people that dropped the bombs killing your wife." Miles is leaning back in his chair. Monroe standing at the window. Tom and Jason sitting across from Miles.

"You better than anyone, Miles, know it is best to keep your enemies close." Tom looks at Monroe. "I heard you had been executed?"

Monroe's smile did not reach his eyes. "I was. 'The devil would not have me damned...' " Tom chuckles.

Miles hesitates then leans forward. "What's your play here, Tom?"

"I don't have one...yet."

"You're aware of what's going on across the country?"

"I am."

"You know there are significantly greater threats coming?" Miles is being purposely ambiguous.

"I've surmised the threat."

"Jason, has Charlie contacted you? To get information?" Monroe is looking out the window then to Jason.

"No. Why?"

"She hasn't contacted you at all?" Miles looks at him.

Jason is confused. Tom smiles. Monroe looks at him. _He knows._

"She's the black widow, isn't she?"

Miles looks at Bass. "And what would you know about the black widow, Tom?"

"It appears the Matheson family tree has yet another professional killer." Tom is smiling.

Jason looks at his father. "What? You're saying that Charlie is the black widow? The one seducing and murdering all those officers? No way. That's not her. She'd never do that."

Tom continues watching both closely. "Let's just say that I began paying closer attention after some information came my way."

Jason looks at his father surprised. "What?"

"Duncan?" Monroe says lightly sitting down across from them.

Tom is eyeing him. "Yes."

Jaws clenched. Eyes deadly. "What did she say? Has Charlotte...been exposed?"

Tom laughs and sits back looking at him for a long time taking a drink. "It seems my son isn't the only one that has a weakness for a pretty face. I see you've exchanged your erotic fixation on one Matheson for another."

Jason looks between his father and Monroe. "What?" He laughs derisively looking at Monroe. "No way." He sits back arms crossed. "There is absolutely no way that would EVER happen. Never in a million years."

"Don't be naive, Jason," Tom says to him not breaking eye contact with Monroe.

"I'm tired of playing games, Tom. What do you know?" Miles is impatient.

"Let's just say that the information I gathered did not make it up the chain of command."

Bass takes a breath. "They don't know anything about her?"

Tom smiles. "No. She was…" he pauses "...performing a...service and remarkably so. I thought I should let her finish. Professional courtesy and all especially not before...General Williams. That man may have been sinfully handsome but would put Strausser to shame. You remember him, don't you, Monroe?"

Monroe grinds his teeth so hard his jaw hurts.

"I have to hand it to you, Miles. You taught the girl well. If I didn't know any better…"

"You don't so shut up." Miles stops him from finishing that sentence. "Do you have any idea who she is targeting next?"

"No. She has no patterns and trust me, I've analyzed it time and time again. It seems she has gotten more aggressive after Duncan was executed."

"Did you do that, Tom?" Monroe asks quietly.

"No. I prefer different tactics as you well know. I was brought in to get certain information from her. I did for my own use. When they thought I failed, they refused to listen to my argument to keep her alive so they executed her thinking it would be the end of their black widow problem. Obviously, they were wrong."

"What information did you get from Duncan?" Miles probes.

"She knew details about me and Jason and the patriots. Things only a few people would know. Six to be exact," he looks at Monroe "seven now. When I introduced myself, she deduced that I could be trusted."

"Charlie must have told her about you and Jason."

"She said there was hope. People were fighting and if she were to be executed the black widows would not stop. She told me to find Matheson and Monroe, to my surprise. I had mentioned that Monroe had been executed and she laughed and remarked it was hard to kill someone that finally found something he wanted more than peace in death. I didn't understand what she was talking about at the time. I thought she was delusional from the drugs." He looks at Monroe and smiles. "Now I know."

* * *

Charlie watched from the shadows as Miles and Bass left the Neville house. An ache and a longing she hadn't allowed herself to feel in a long time came over her. She missed him. She missed Miles, her mom, and Aaron. She needed them.

It was time to come out of hiding. Tomorrow. She would do it tomorrow. She needed a drink tonight.


	22. Chapter 22

Charlie makes her way to her room above the bar to throw some water on her face then back below to grab a drink.

She gets a bottle and takes it to the back at a corner table deep in the shadows away from the door. She downs three shots in a row trying to calm her racing heart attempting to suppress all those avoided emotions. She closes her eyes remembering the feel of his lips on hers and the way he looked at her with that smile. Her head falls back against the wall and she takes a deep breath feeling a single tear fall down the side of her face.

There is nothing compared to the ache of wanting something so badly and not being able to have it even if it's right in front of you for the overwhelming fear of simply reaching out and grabbing it.

He'll hate her. Word has bound to have gotten back to them about her and he'll hate her knowing what she did. With all those men. She wonders if that's what she originally wanted when she started out on this trip six months ago. Did she want him to hate her so he wouldn't look at her the way he did or make her feel the way she did about him? Yes. She wanted him to hate her. It would make it easier when he left and he eventually would. But he didn't leave; she did. Again. _I'm not going anywhere, Bass_, but she left him. Twice.

She didn't know if it was the talk of marriage and kids that made her run and the feeling of being suffocated even though it was a good euphoric kind of high suffocation that left you feeling light headed and exposed. Like looking down from a tall ledge with nothing below your feet. Scary tingly. She hadn't taken any precautions with him. Hadn't even thought about it getting lost in him so completely and the moments. It was about being totally overwhelmed and consumed by an emotion that had so completely taken her by surprise.

She doesn't want to be a wife or mother. Not yet anyway. Perhaps in ten-twenty years, if ever. If she lived that long, but right now? Hell no. The thought makes her wanna run to the darkest corner of the earth and never come out. She had been responsible for Danny and look what happened to him.

She laughs at herself and downs three more shots. She's not making any fucking sense. Full blown neurotic angst. Love makes you crazy. Over thinking makes it worse. As does six months of living on the edge in a highly stressful volatile environment almost dying every single day. It messes with your mind not to mention she eats very little and drinks like a fish. She's aware that stress and malnutrition can have adverse effects on your psyche. Son of a bitch, she's starting to sound like her dad.

If she'd known pursuing him a year ago in New Vegas would've caused this kind of crazy within her, would she still have done it? Or her decision to seduce him without thinking of the ramifications? Oh yes. Without a doubt. Just seeing that smile and his total transformation she would make at least five trips to hell and back.

She didn't think the complications included falling in love with him. She thought it would be a good fuck to get rid of the lust and attraction that had sparked between them. Had she known that what would happen between them would be a mind numbing soul baring emotional connection the intensity the likes she had never felt before...who is she kidding. She would still do it. She just never thought it would mean all this.

She'd tried to rid him from her thoughts first with alcohol and being the black widow. Men, sex, violence, and murder. All the best ingredients for making you forgot about the psychotic dictator you've fallen in love with that had your dad and brother killed. _Lovely, Charlie_, she thinks sarcastically. Duncan had warned her. She knew what kind of darkness Charlie was embracing. She had said once she started rolling towards that dark pit it would be hard to stop, but then Duncan had been captured and killed. She took a deep breath. There was only so much pain a person could take before one became dark and psychotic and this is ultimately how she could empathize with Bass. She understood.

Regardless, she had joined Duncan for herself. To help. To prove to herself she could. She had needed to do something. Without her mom or Miles or Bass. She felt kind of useless before this. Call it being independent or call it running away...whatever. Being the black widow had been a choice. Her choice and sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. She wasn't proud of some of the things she had to do, but she did them and she would live with them for the rest of her life. No regrets.

She finishes the bottle and heads to her room refusing to think about any of it. Avoidance had always worked. Turn off those emotions. Ignore it. Avoid it. Maybe they'll go away at least for tonight until she had to face him tomorrow. Face them all.

* * *

He knew when he left Neville's house. He caught a glimpse of her and could feel her eyes on him. He doesn't react and walks with Miles back to where they're staying all the while surreptitiously keeping one eye on her making sure it's her. Hoping like hell it's her. He had been looking in a sea of faces for six months never finding that face. Till today. Now she's here. She's sneaky as hell. Good enough for Miles not to notice her, but Bass feels that magnetic pull between them.

Miles observes the change in him immediately. "What's going on, Bass?" He looks around.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." Bass smiles. He actually smiles. Miles cocks an eyebrow suspiciously. "I'll see you in the morning. I'm going for a walk." He left minutes later picking her up easily. He follows her back to a bar and watches her from behind the shadows. She looks thinner, but still beautiful enough to take his breath away...and sad. Lost.

He had been angry the first couple of weeks after she left. Furious. There were only a few times in his life he had felt that kind of fury and most of them had been because of her and Miles. Fucking Mathesons would be the death of him. And when the news started coming in about the black widow, he was flooded with a rage of jealousy that almost smothered him whole. He and jealousy hadn't really been acquainted until he met Charlotte. He didn't like it. At all.

He knew it was the nature of who she was and who she was evolving into. It didn't make his emotions and reactions any different. He wanted her to want to stay with him and he knew she did. She's young, impulsive, independent, and fierce and those are the things he loves about her. Pigheaded and complicated as hell. Probably why they both sparked so well together.

Emotional reactions aside, he is trying to use his brain instead of the irrational emotions that make them so unpredictable but passionate. Yeah. Good luck with that. Another thing he seems to have lost since he'd gotten involved with her: his mind. Still...all he can think about is holding her. Smelling her. Making her smile and laugh. Taking the pain away. Burying himself so deep inside her that she never wanted to leave him again. She was his and it was time she acknowledged it even if he had to keep her in bed licking, biting, and fucking it out of her. God, he missed her.

He goes upstairs ahead of her and lets himself into her room hiding in the shadows. It isn't long till she arrives.

She stumbles into the room locking it behind her. The room is dark a light golden glow from a gas street lantern outside the window highlighting her in front of the door where she stops. She unstraps her swords and knife belts throwing them aside. She takes off her coat and starts unbuttoning the vest. She stops. She's aware of him. He moves quickly behind her. His arm around her neck in a chokehold. His other arm wrapping around her front forcing her arm against her so she can't move. The front of his body presses up against her back. His mouth next to her ear. She stays still at first relaxing back into him then bucks backwards slamming them both into the door.

"Stop it, Charlotte!" He whispers into her ear.

She stops. He can feel her heart racing. Her hands no longer gripping him, but clutching him like she's hanging on for life.

He puts his face into her hair at her neck and takes a deep breath. Vanilla. Always with the vanilla. He pulls her back full molding their bodies together. Her head falls back against him and her hands start moving up behind her to his face. She's gently running her hands over his face, his beard, his hair, and his lips. She's taking deep breaths.

He pulls her in closer and tighter and slides them slowly down the door onto the floor pulling her onto his lap gently laying soft kisses along her head and jaw line rubbing his face against hers. She calms down silent and submissive in his arms.

Charlie knew it was him as soon as she felt someone's presence. His scent. The way her body reacted to his touch. His hands. His arms. So long without him. Her anger had been reactionary. A retaliation for his persistence in coming for her. Again. More angry at herself than him. She's not prepared to face him. She would've gone to him. In the morning. On her own time. Now, here he is smelling so...Bass like and feeling so much like home in his arms so warm and secure that she couldn't breath. She was waiting for the wrath and judgement. Yet, he was holding her. Gently. She can feel a low level hum of anger, but nothing like she was expecting. He's tender and caring and she needs it. She wants to drown in it. In him.

The ache and heat starts to collect and spread. His hands not only a source of comfort, but a drug that her body been deprived. She leans her head back against him her eyes closed searching for his lips. She meets his open mouth tongue invading. Her hand moving behind his head gripping his curls to force him deeper into her mouth. She lets out a whimper the vibrations from his groan makes her wet with need. His hands softly caress her neck then move to her breasts kneading them through her vest. She unbuttons and frantically removes it. He's filling his hands with her breasts cupping her hot skin thumbs grazing her nipples her hands moving over his.

Her back still to him. Her ass firmly embedded on his lap and his erection, he moves his hand to her hips and starts moving her on it totally unaware and not caring about the hard floor beneath them and the door at their back.

She removes her mouth from his to unbutton her pants pushing them down kicking at them impatiently till she's able to easily maneuver while he makes quick work of unbuttoning opening his fly. Both wanting desperately to merge into the other. She reaches between them grabs his cock as he positions himself his head dipping into her wetness. She slides back onto him fast and hard arching backwards in a sigh of pleasure and total contentment and completion.

He grunts at the ease and slickness of entering her from behind. Holding her still, he captures that sigh with his mouth holding her head in place while sucking on her tongue. He begins to arch up into her grabbing her hips. She cries out how deep he is within her. He pushes her forward his legs moving under her for leverage gripping her hips while pumping up into her. His head thrown back against the door. He can feel her already starting to contract around his cock milking the orgasm from him. She falls back against him coming hard crying out. He leans over her back the momentum of his thrusts pulling them to their side onto the floor. He's still thrusting into her wrapping his arms around her enveloping her body to him spooning into her coming hard spilling deep within her grunting a hoarse 'Charlie' hot and heavy into her neck.

They remain that way for a long time on the floor on their side. His arm a pillow for both their heads. His body wrapped around hers from behind still buried semi hard inside her. He's placing soft kisses along the back of her neck and the curve of her shoulder. His finger gently pushing the hair behind her ear and softly caressing her face down her neck and onto her shoulder.

His voice soft and hoarse with emotion is hot in her ear. "You're mine, Charlie."

She takes a deep breath grabs his hand interlacing with hers and pulls up to her lips kissing it. "I know," she whispers resigned falling asleep in his arms.


	23. Chapter 23

She wakes on her stomach on the hard floor stiff with a mild headache. Her mouth dry. She feels him on her back blanketed across her. His body keeping her warm. His head in the middle of her back his soft beard his breath hot evenly against her skin. His other arm fixed firmly around her. He's still in his clothes. She still has her boots on and her pants tangled around her feet. His legs entangled in hers.

The floor is hard, but not as hard as some of the places they've slept. She didn't think either of them would've noticed preoccupied with each other as they'd been.

It's still dark outside either very early or very late. She's never had a very good concept of time.

The room is dark. Still a light golden glow slides across the room faintly from the street lanterns.

She takes a deep breath. Time to face the consequences. She tries to rollover without waking him, but that's impossible so she pushes up to get up and he tightens his arm around her rolling to his side dragging her roughly against his body putting his face in her neck his breath hot and moist at her ear. "You're not leaving me again."

That statement wrenches her heart so savagely she grinds her teeth to prevent her from gasping. She pushes him away. "I'm going to the bathroom," She snaps. She can feel him smiling into her neck his erection against her. The man flusters her more than anyone she's ever known. She smiles a warmth washing over her.

He releases her reluctantly his hands running down the length of her body as she rises.. She gets up trying not to trip over her pants tangled around her feet. She stumbles and starts laughing. She's still a bit dazed. She thinks it's the first time she's smiled and laughed in months. Since the last time she was with him.

She looks back at him. He's lying on his back his hands behind his head looking up at her smiling and her breath catches. God, she's not sure how she went a day without seeing that smile.

She pulls her pants and boots off not breaking eye contact with him then goes to take care of business. When she comes back, he's still lying on the floor on his back and it appears he's fallen back asleep. She stands above him watching him sleep for the longest time. She lays down next to him on her side and starts tracing his face with her finger. He's awake pretending like he's sleeping.

"I'm afraid," she says softly.

The muscle in his cheeks flexes. He takes a deep breath. "I know." He rolls over to her and leans in and kisses her his lips remaining on hers. "Can we get in the bed now?"

She laughs against his lips. "Only if you take off your clothes."

His lips against hers, he smiles. "Deal."

He pulls her by the hand up from the floor and pushes her back onto the bed on top the covers. She's watching him watch her as he's taking off his clothes.

He crawls in next to her both on their sides facing each other hands under their heads. Her face turns serious. "Is everyone...okay?"

He's tempted to let that question hang in the air to teach her a lesson, but the distress in her face tugs at his gut. "Yes. Everyone is healthy and alive."

She releases the breath she was holding.

"I'm sorry," she leans over and kisses him lightly on the lips. "I needed to do this."

"I know." She could've had a knife buried deep in his heart saying she was sorry and he would've forgiven her especially looking at him like she is now. _It's unlikely this feeling is ever going away, old man. You should just suck it up and enjoy her as long as you can keep her. Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day. Who knows when she's going to leave you again._

"I don't believe in forevers, Charlotte…" he pauses "...but when I'm with you...I want to."

"What you make me feel scares me."

"We can change the definition of forever."

"Idiot." She smiles.

"Brat." He smirks.

"Stop."

"What?"

"You're being too kind. Too nice. Where is Monroe?"

"He's always been here. With you."

"You have to get angry and hate me."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Do you hate me?" He's smiling again looking at her lips.

"Yes."

"Liar." He pushes her hair behind her ear. "I was never under any delusion that I could ever control you and I don't really want to. I like you the way you are."

She takes a deep breath smiling that crooked smile her eyes drooping. "I haven't slept much lately...like in six months," she's murmuring. "I missed you. A lot. You're not going to leave are you?"

He laughs. He watches her fall asleep. He pulls a blanket over her. Leave it to Charlotte to make a joke out of HIM leaving.

A couple of hours later, he wakes her up. The really nice way. She's on her back. Her arms above her head. His beard is soft between her breasts kissing the path of the charm he gave her six long months ago.

"You kept it," he smiles at her kissing and nibbling down her abdominal muscles.

She's smiling in a daze. "Of course I did," she says gasping out when he takes her in his mouth and spends the next half hour first waking her up with his mouth then burying himself so deep inside her she leaves claw marks all over his body.

Later they've cleaned up and are ready to leave when she brings it up. He's across the room and she's at the door.

"Bass, I had to do some things you'll probably hear about that you're not going to like." She takes a deep breath looking him directly in the eye owning her actions and facing the consequences of those actions. "Men...some men...they think women are...weak, fragile, meek, soft and easily manipulated...especially when you allow certain things...to progress to...a certain degree. It's then I strike." She stands up taller looking at him. "I'm sorry if what I did hurts you, but I had to do what I had to do to get the job done and I did." Hands on her hips looking at him expecting a fight.

His head down, his eyes travel up her body to her face. He looks directly at her. That dark, deadly, calm Monroe with that arrogant smirk. The one that ordered Strausser to kill her. He's back. A delicious chill creeps up her spine and she finds herself oddly aroused her heart racing. She drops her hands to her sides clenching and unclenching her fists. He moves slowly towards her pushing her back into the door. His expression opening and tender. His hand comes up to her neck and moves softly up to her face his eyes turning gentle his thumb lightly caressing her bottom lip leaning his forehead into hers. "Sex is just sex, Charlotte. I want your soul." He brings his other hand up to her neck and kisses her.


	24. Chapter 24

"I wasn't the only black widow."

Everyone stops and looks at her. "What?" Miles asks. Him, Rachel, Aaron, and Adam are sitting across from her and Bass at a table in a dingy dining room in a stately old abandoned townhome in Georgetown where they'd been hiding out.

She laughs. "That was the best part of Duncan's plan. There wasn't...or isn't only one black widow; there are many. I was the black widow…" she looks at Bass "...a handful of times."

He's sitting back in his chair. Hand at his mouth looking at her. Expressionless. "'Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups.'"

"Duncan was her the most. We did a couple of jobs...together..." she looks around at each of their faces to see if they needed her to elaborate on that.

Widened eyes, a couple 'o' and Adam's big goofy smile. "Moving on then. When Williams killed her…I felt I needed to avenge her and complete her job." She pauses sitting up straighter in her chair hands gripping the arms. "And I did." She smiles. It does not reach her eyes. She takes a deep breath. "She was my friend and that man...needed to be gone."

Bass feels there is more behind that last statement and remembers to inquire further at another time.

Charlie looks at each of them. They seem...shocked? Relieved? She laughs. "Judgy much? I'm good, but I'm not THAT good."

"I beg to differ." Bass smiles at her reaching over and kissing her lightly on the lips in front of everyone grabbing her hand interlacing his fingers through hers dragging his lips over them.

Neither of them are overtly affectionate in front of others. It's not in their characters. This is a sign of underlying support and appreciation and he just did it right in front of everyone which was a first. She was torn between shoving him off or straddling him in that chair and riding him right there. Charlie smiles and blushes reminding herself to do that later.

"She blushes when this morning she was…"

Miles cuts Bass off. "No, no, no. That's just wrong. Do not finish that."

"Awkward," Aaron says looking at the both of them his eyes wide.

Rachel is looking between the two with that pensive smirk that you can't quite tell if she's hating it or loving it or she's the mad scientist planning on killing you.

Adam is smiling at them. Big. Goofy. Endearing. He is clearly his mama's son.

Miles raises an eyebrow at them then moves on. "So, there are more out there?" He asks. "I wonder if Neville knew this when he said Duncan told him that the 'black widows would not stop'? Plural. I assumed he misspoke. Now, we all know what assumptions make you…"

"...look like an idiot?" Adam laughs. "We've heard between 30-40 officers countrywide and let me say, me, personally? I was impressed. I'm kind of disappointed it wasn't only you."

"If only the world were run by women we wouldn't be in this mess," Miles looks at Bass.

Bass smiles nodding. "I'm totally okay with women running the world."

"I'm cool with that," Adam says.

"I'm definitely cool with that," Aaron says taking a drink from his flask.

"Wait a minute. Are you guys concerned that you thought I slept with all of them or that I killed all of them? Or both?" She starts laughing. "So, it's okay for men to use sex as a tool against women, but not vice versa?" She looks pointedly at Bass. "Sex is just sex, right? The violence? The murders?" She shakes her head.

"And...more awkward," Aaron takes another big drink from his flask.

"Charlie, as your mother, I was...concerned for you, but as a woman…it deserves some debate. This cannot have been easy? And I'm not saying using sex as a weapon is okay rather exploiting the enemies weakness which is sex is another way of playing their game and winning. Men have used it against women so...why not give them a taste of their own medicine? It's dangerous, but when you're at war...what isn't? And it's not like that is your only weapon."

"Some of us don't have the luxury of being brainiac scientists, mom. Each of us chose to do what we could and how with what little we have. Our choice. No one else's. We use what we have to adapt, survive, and help others and sex wasn't our only tool. It's easy for some people to judge when they're not in that situation. It wasn't like we were targeting innocent men here, but bullies. Sadists. Egotistical power hungry evil men that not only thought they had the right to antagonize and oppress women, but all people. The patriots want to enslave us and if you hadn't noticed, the majority are all men with a few unaware and misinformed women scattered here and there among them. We were lucky enough to pull some over onto our side, but it's like they've...done something to the rest."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asks.

"We heard rumors of rehabilitation centers where drug altering chemicals were used."

Rachel and Miles look at each other.

"Neville has to know something about this. Why didn't you go to him?" Miles asks.

"I went to Jason when Duncan and the rest were captured." Miles and Bass look at each other. "He didn't even know who I was. Something wasn't right with him. He was in this...enraged daze. I don't trust him. Something's wrong with him. I think they've gotten to him. I got away from him as soon as I realized it."

"He didn't mention seeing you and he was surprised when Tom told him about the black widow and Duncan. Something is making me think that Tom is aware of Jason's...problem," Miles is looking at Bass.

"And now he knows about Charlie being the black widow." Bass turns to Charlie. "You have to lay low until we find out more information about Jason and if and what he's telling them."

"If you confront Jason, I want to be there."

Bass laughs. "Of course you do." He looks at Miles. "We need a plan. We gotta get Tom alone and question him."

"I'm the only one left," Charlies says quietly gazing across the room out the window.

"What?" Bass is looking at her concerned.

"There were five of us in this area including me and Duncan and I'm the only one left. They executed them all." She shakes off the doom and gloom and smiles that smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "I survived." She gets up and walks into the other room.

* * *

"You know when I was defeated and crushed?" Bass asks her. He's smiling.

"When you were executed?" He laughs. Her head tilts and she's smiling at him teasing him. "What? Too soon? It's been almost a year. Get over it."

"When a smart ass mouthy brat had the nerve to actually tell me the truth at the bottom of a nasty ass empty swimming pool."

"It's irritating when a dumb kid tells you what to do, isn't it?" Miles says coming up behind them.

"Really, Miles? Don't you have anything new?" Charlie snaps at his eavesdropping.

"Where is all your anger? Your hate?" Charlie asks Bass. Again.

"I left it in the bottom of a pine box in Texas. Well...not all of it. You and Miles still manage to inspire lots of anger. I got no more hate. I used it all on myself."

"There is always more self hate."

"Well, then give me a few months, a sword, Miles, and some men and I'm sure I can inspire some more."

"No cause this time you'll have me."

"Oh, brother." Miles mocks and gets up and walks out of the room mumbling something about cheese and corn.

Charlie laughs when she figures out what he said: _cheesy...corny_.


	25. Chapter 25

Months Earlier

"He was pissed."

"Of course he was. I locked him in the wine cellar."

She laughs. They're drinking around a fire stopping for the night on their way to DC. Just the two of them. The rest have gone to sleep.

"What you said resonated. 'Don't let him consume you.' What I feel for him scares me. He was beginning to consume me. I had to take a step back. I was losing me...in him and I never thought this would happen in the first place."

"That happens."

"Yeah?"

"Yup. Some of us are not fortunate enough to recognize it till we're an obsessive fucking lunatic bent on total self destruction and then it takes hitting the bottom to find our way up again."

Charlie's eyes are wide. She's smiling. "So, how does that work normally?"

Duncan laughs. "Beats me. I never could. I just figured all the pain and complications were not worth it. Sometimes being alone is self preservation for some people. You have to love, live and be at peace with yourself before anyone else can love you. Who says we HAVE to be with just one person or any person, but then again, I am never truly _alone_." She smiles that wicked mischievous smile.

Charlie laughs with her. "No, you're not and you're not crazy."

Duncan laughs. "Catch me at certain times. All of us have our shadow sides. I don't think that ever goes away. You can tell yourself all you want that you'll never do something then it's there confronting you staring you in the face like a slow mo video on replay and you're like what the fuck did I just do."

She's smiling baffled. "What?"

"Never mind," she laughs.

"I never thought I would...be with _him_." She chooses not to say his name then it doesn't make the ache of missing him so much deeper. "Dad. Danny. Maggie. Nora. Mom. Miles and eventually I realized he was just another broken spoke in a wheel that started coming apart long ago. We all are. We're all just a victim of circumstance. Some of us die and some of us carry the burden of their deaths long after they're dead and not easily either. He did not carry it easily. I looked into his eyes and saw his only peace would be peace in death and it floored me."

"Sometimes the worse kind of torture is our own mind. Replaying all the things we fucked up and lost."

Charlie's thinking they need to seriously lighten the mood. She looks at Duncan with that crooked wicked grin. "Well...then there is his body. Men. Shirtless." She shakes her head smiling shrugging in unapologetic helplessness. "They like to wear their pants around their hips and those ab muscles just make me wanna trace every line. Men eyeball my breasts. I eyeball their abs...seems only fair..." she shrugs "AND I've always had a thing for bad boys. I'm such a whore for him."

"Yes, I get it. Here's to equality..." she toasts holding up her bottle. "...and my right to eyeball both breasts and abs AND we are all whores, doll. The trick is making him your whore." They both laugh.

"Then there is his intense loyalty...and that protective kindness...and that smile...and that's all she wrote. The man is one of the most contrary persons I've ever known."

"That man did not have the look of this is a casual thing when he was eyeballing you."

"I suppose he likes me well enough. We get on good together when he's not being a dick, but sometimes his being a dick is incredibly hot and I think _what's wrong with you, Charlie_."

"He more than likes you Charlie. He has the look of a man bewitched and hooked. I think he was looking to be whipped. I think he's been searching for someone to love him unconditionally all his life. He's head over heels for you, doll."

"Okay, now you're really scaring me."

"And I saw the way you were looking at him and don't get me started on when you guys locked lips before you disappeared into the tent. Don't fool yourself. Don't tell yourself one thing when you know it's something else."

* * *

Present-ish

"I was targeting this woman to befriend her, but she's not really interested in...girls. Not even as friends and trust me, I turned on my best charm." Charlie is in the living room with them all.

Miles looks at Charlie then to Rachel with a _she's your daughter_ look and she arches her eyebrows with _she's your daughter too, ass_. She's tired of dancing around that fact with him.

"And you are?" Adam asks her laughing. Big smile.

Charlie rolls her eyes and shrugs. "I do what I need to do. Why does it even matter?"

Adam is smiling looking at Bass. Bass shrugs. _She's her own person._

"Send Bass. He's passively pretty. Women love him...and I'm sure some men do too." Miles is chuckling.

"Now, Miles, let's tell them about that woman...where was it...Miami? Turned out to be a…" Miles cuts off Bass.

"No, let's not." Miles is looking at Rachel who is smiling. Actually smiling. A big wide grin.

Charlie looks at Bass smiling giving him the once over. "Yeah, I suppose he's okay. I guess he'll do. Maybe him and his pretty progeny." Charlie winks at Bass.

"That was a compliment, right?" Adam looks to Bass and everyone. "Y'all heard that, right?"

"If he doesn't open his mouth," Charlie mumbles.

* * *

It's after dinner and they're all sitting around the table drinking. Again. Charlie has had one too many drinks. Chin in hand. Elbow on table staring at Bass across the table who is mimicking her both taking the occasional sips from their drinks.

A slow smile spreads across her face behind her hand. "Have you ever heard the phrase fire and poetry?"

His hand moves to the side of his head. He smiles laughing shaking his head. "No."

"I don't know where I heard it, but it reminds me of us."

"Who's fire and who's poetry?"

"That's obvious. Miles, pass the bottle." She's still looking at Bass smiling.

"Well, if we were in a normal fucking world and our life expectancy was...say...more than a week...or a...year then I'd tell you to lay off the booze, but in the meantime," he raises his glass "cheers" and passes her the bottle.

"Shouldn't you be sober, Charlie?" Aaron asks her.

"Are you ever sober, Aaron?"

"No."

"Well, then...hey, I need to ask you something." He's sitting right next to her at the table.

"Yes?"

Charlie looks at Bass then around the table to each of them. Rachel is looking at her from her journal. Miles is in a daze looking off and Adam is in the other room. Aaron is taking a drink when she leans over whispering in his ear. He listens. His eyes go wide and he coughs his drink spews out of his mouth spraying across the table narrowly missing Bass who just sits there watching it go by him with his eyes. Suddenly everyone's attention is on Aaron who is trying to right himself.

Charlie starts giggling. Actually giggling. She hasn't _giggled_ in a long time. It makes Bass laugh.

Aaron looks at her. "You're serious with that question?"

Her eyebrows shoot up and she's nodding. "Yes. Absolutely. Please?"

Aaron looks at her wide eyed then across the table at Bass then to Rachel and Miles and ultimately back to Charlie. "I don't even know if that's...even...possible."

She looks across the table at Bass. She gets up grabbing Aaron by the arm dragging him out of the room.

"What? What, Charlie?" He asks frustrated.

"Shhh! Just please ask." She's whispering.

Aaron looks uncomfortable. "You do know that there are other ways...around that, right?"

Charlie laughs at his unease. "Yes."

Now Aaron is really uncomfortable. "Maybe you should be talking to your mom about this?"

"No cause you're the conduit to those little nanite buggers."

"Do you realize how illogical and ridiculous this conversation is and do you actually know the true meaning of that slang?"

"Aaron?!"

"What if they do it and...it's permanent?" He's asking genuinely concerned.

She thinks for a minute. "That's a chance I'm willing to take."

He sighs. "I'll ask...them...it...whatever."

Charlie takes a deep breath and smiles pleased. "Thank you." She hugs him and puts her arm through his. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. You are a pain in the ass, kid."

"Yes, I've been told. And Aaron? Let's keep this between us, yeah?"

"God, yes," he visibly shudders at the thought of sharing what she asked him with the others.

They go back into the dining room. She looks across the table at Bass.

_What, Matheson, are you up to?_ Bass looks at her.

_Wouldn't you like to know?_ She smirks.

Later, she's walking through the upstairs hallway and Bass pulls her into a room, closes the door and pushes her up against it for a long hot wet kiss. After a few minutes he pulls back and starts moving in on her neck up to her ear. "What are you up to, Charlie?"

She pushes him back. "Wouldn't you like to know." She looks around for a chair. She's had something in mind all day in the dark corners of her mind and she couldn't quite shake it. She locates a chair in the corner and drags it to the middle of the room.

"Where are mom and Miles sleeping?" She asks.

He looks at her frowning. "Downstairs."

"And Aaron?"

"Down the hall to the right. Are you suddenly turning shy on me?" He's laughing at her.

Her face screws up in confusion and she laughs. "No. Sit." She barks.

He looks at her a wide smile slowly crawls across his face. He sits. She starts removing her clothes. His eyebrows go up.

"I've been thinking of this all day," she says.


	26. Chapter 26

"What is your favorite thing?"

"You."

Charlie stops looking around the bar and looks back at him with a crooked smile. "Stop."

"No." Bass is sitting next to her watching the entrance.

"What else?" She asks looking at Miles across the room getting them a bottle and glasses at the bar. They're at a table waiting on Neville in a back ends bar on the river.

"I suppose Miles when he's not a moron." Bass is looking over at him rubbing his beard.

"Cause he's your best friend." She grins at that memory. She loves his loyalty. Even after everything they've put each other through, there is still an unconditional love, respect, and friendship there and she admires that.

He looks at her with one of those tender expressions. "Yes."

"I don't think I've ever had a best friend like that." Except, isn't that what he is? She looks at him and her breath skips. He's reading her thoughts.

He smiles. _You do now._

She smiles back.

Adam arrives and sits down next to Bass.

"And this kid has easily become a favorite," Bass is still looking at her.

"What?" Adam is smiling clueless.

"He's...okay." Charlie smiles at him. She likes Adam. He has a good heart. They're always teasing each other. He knows not to take her too seriously when she mocks him.

He and Bass have their issues, but Emma seems to have imparted some emotional insight on him as well as her carefree and gentle personality. He's very outgoing and the ladies love him, which is something he seems to have picked up from his dad in addition to his good looks and skills.

In her six months away from them, Adam had trained with both Bass and Miles. Both had praised his skills.

He and Bass had grown closer. Although, the only time she hears Adam refer to Bass as dad is when he's joking about him to her. He doesn't with anyone else. Mostly he calls him Monroe.

They've all learned to refrain from calling Bass 'Monroe' in front of unknowns. Never knowing who they can trust. The patriots had believed Sebastian Monroe to be dead and buried back in Texas and Miles and Bass wanted that to remain their advantage.

"Is that another compliment, Matheson? Is dear old dad softening you up?" He laughs.

Miles arrives with their drinks and shortly after Neville walks in with Jason.

"Gentlemen. Young lady." They sit down across from them.

"Charlie." Jason is unhappy with her and eyeballing Bass with daggers in his eyes. His jaw is hard and his hands are clenched. He knows. She's not sure how, but he knows about her and Bass.

"Jason." She glances at Bass who is sitting there casual, calm, indifferent looking at Jason and Tom.

She looks at both Bass and Jason. There is no comparison. Bass is like Martin's _A Song of Ice and Fire_ books and Jason is like a 25-page manual on how to put a bike together. She's not being cruel and she appreciates Jason and her time with him, but after having had her experiences with Bass, there's really no question in her mind who is better for her and who would challenge her in every way. And, who needs her.

Her and Bass? Are yin and yang. Fire and poetry. And, if she really wanted to go _there_: Jane and Rochester or Elizabeth and Darcy. His experiences alone were enough to capture her intrigue for the foreseeable future. Even if some of those experiences had been questionably unstable at times and against her and her family. She's reconciled that and moved on. All this is not even taking into account their attraction and the emotional connection with each other, and the intense chemistry they share. Her and Bass also had their love and loyalty for Miles in common. Regardless of all those things, she needed to finally acknowledge that she's in love with him as much as that vexes her and she's definitely not ready to admit THAT to him.

She looks down smiling and shaking her head. Some choices in life were incredibly easy even if the road to get there had not been. This choice? This is an easy choice.

Bass' eyes meet hers. He's smirking. _Arrogant bastard knows what she's thinking._ She looks down and smiles stopping herself from rolling her eyes and laughing.

She looks back up at Jason not feeling anything for him other than an urge to get to the truth and a certain level of distrust.

"What happened to you, Jason?" She didn't think he could get more tense, but he did. He looks at his dad. "Don't look at him. Look at me and tell me what happened to you?"

"I was sent to a reprogramming camp and given hallucinatory drugs."

He's lost weight and he's pale. He's tense and uneasy. She feels compassion for him. No one deserves that. She still doesn't trust him though. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that. Do you not remember me coming to you?"

"When?" He seems genuinely confused.

"A couple of months ago, but it doesn't matter now. Are you okay? You seem...fragile?"

That seems to piss him off. He slams his fist on the table. "I am not fragile."

She should've known. Never question a man's fragility in front of other men especially the one you used to sleep with in front of the one you're currently sleeping with. _Bad move, Charlie. _Duncan did teach her this.

"Jason," Tom warns.

Jason clearly isn't himself. Charlie looks at Tom. "I want to know about Duncan's execution. Did you do it?" Charlie doesn't hold back her hostility.

"No," says Tom, succinct as always. She has a certain...appreciation for the man even if he's a dick and a son of a bitch father. He's smart and ruthless. He has that certain level of callousness needed for situations like these.

After coming to know Miles, Bass, and Tom, she can see how someone with ten years of this hard brutal life can lose their humanity. Their compassion. It's a wonder they had any at all.

"Can I talk to you?" Jason asks Charlie. "Alone?" He looks at Bass then back to Charlie.

"Yes, of course." Charlie didn't hesitate and she expected he would want an explanation. She can give him that courtesy. She glances at Bass. He's looking back over each person in the room acting like he's not paying attention. He pays attention to everyone and everything and she knows it. Her and Jason walk over to the bar to talk.

"I have a list of rehabilitation centers we should...remove." Tom slides the list across the table to Miles. Miles looks at it then slides it over to Bass. "I think we should start here. I have someone inside at that big white house at the end of the block that's working another angle. On the back of that list is also a list of additional names that I think…" he looks at Bass who's leaning back in his chair hand to his mouth "...the little widow would do well and advantageous to remove."

Speaking of, Bass looks over at her talking with Jason. Jason isn't happy. He's gesticulating and pissed. Bass wouldn't blame the kid. He feels sorry for him. Jason's young; maybe he'll get over it. How? He didn't know. He hadn't figured how to get her out of his system yet and probably never would. He's not going to gloat about it because she could leave him...again.

Jason grabs her roughly by the arm and Adam makes a move to go to her defense. Bass stops him. "She can take care of herself. Let her handle it." They both look back and sure enough Charlie removes Jason's hand from her arm and gives him a look and a smile that would stagger any man. He chuckles. _Goddamn, those men had no clue what they were in for._

She walks back over sitting down as does Jason. Jason is still pissed and Charlie...is calm, which is a sign she's...piqued.

They make plans to contact each other again. Tom and Jason leave.

Bass looks at her smiling. "You ready to leave there, Natasha?" Miles chuckles.

* * *

Months Earlier

"Did you ever want to have kids, Duncan?"

"God, no." She laughs. "Maybe when I was young and naive and knew it all, but then I grew up and realized I don't know shit and not everyone with a womb should procreate."

It's one of their nightly rituals. Whiskey and girl talk around the fire on the road to D.C. or what Duncan likes to refer to as _Destruction and Chaos_. "To be quite honest, I don't know if D.C. is as fucked up now as it was before the blackout. The place has always been a cesspool for idiots usually in the form of testosterone in suits with lots of money and little care for actual people. Don't get me wrong, I love men and women equally and I'm sure there were...are good public servants, but men and testosterone? So much more destructive than women and hormones. With us it's like eating fast food in front of the tv crying and screaming irrationally at a cow commercial. With them it's drones and Gitmo and the NSA, but I suppose it's not really fair to lay it all at their feet. There are quite a few women that can be just as destructive...as they're going to find out...soon." Charlie sometimes never really understands all of what Duncan is saying, but she gets her point nonetheless.

"Why no kids?"

"Do you know what kind of responsibility that is? I mean really know and understand it?"

Charlie thinks about Danny. "I was responsible for my brother when my mom left. He died. I failed. So, yeah. I think I get it."

Duncan pauses looking at her with compassion and understanding. "Yes, that's what I mean. My dad died when I was young. My brother was an oops so I was much older than he was. My mom disappeared for a while. You could say she abandoned us, but I can't really blame her. The woman had a hard life and it's not like my dad was her first choice, but her only choice at the time to get away from her family. I had responsibility for my brother." She is quiet for a few. "He was a good kid with a big heart and really smart, but no common sense. Here was me, a teenager, trying to be responsible for my brother; this whole other human being. Talk about pressure and I already had issues being all Goth, metal, and attitude. My mom came back and at 18, I split left him there with my mom. He fell in with some bad people. Dropped out of school. It only got worse. So, ultimately, I feel like I had a kid and failed him miserably. That's something that scars you. It really doesn't make you feel all motherly and nurturing."

Duncan rolls over onto her belly grabbing the bottle and taking a drink. Charlie's on the other side of the fire on her side head in hand gazing into the fire. "You seem like a mother to all the girls here."

Duncan laughs. "We're all sisters in the same fight. I'm simply a friend and someone that tells them the truth. We understand each other. We're all searching for connection and acceptance. All it takes is empathy, sincerity, and compassion."

"I don't think I want to be a mother."

"Don't dismiss it outright cause I did. Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it's not for you. You would be a fabulous mother. Then again...that's what several people told me." She's laughing. "I wondered if they were telling me that just because they thought every woman should be a mother. You do what's best for you and only you."


	27. Chapter 27

"I used to find books anywhere and everywhere I could looking for some way - anyway - out of the box you and dad had me locked in and some books would have these boring mundane everyday details of...well, reality like _she goes to pee_ or _she washes her hands_ or anything related to bodily fluids...yuk...and the romance novels...the women ALWAYS getting pregnant and married. Ugh. I would think who wants to read that? Who wants to read the reality of that when we experience that every day? And why can't the woman go off and explore and have adventures and conquer the world and if she falls in love...hell, bring him...or her along. Oh, and don't get me started on all the angst and melodramatic confrontations."

Charlie is sitting with her mom in the big stately townhouse waiting for the boys to get back. They are doing the usual: bonding over whiskey. "Quite frankly, I think this family would be fucked up more so than we already are without the bond of whiskey holding us all together." She's not sure how they get from one subject to the next. Perhaps there's some rambling subtext to all their drunken talks. Something hidden in the layers of truth subconsciously buried under all the angst that comes out during all these bullshit sessions of...well...bullshit. Who is she kidding: it's therapy what little she knows about the subject thanks to Maggie.

"And you and dad with your stone cold rationality. I'm thankful for Aaron and Maggie otherwise I'd be a mess. I heard someone once say they were raised by wolves and I asked them what they meant. They gave me some bullshit lame reply about being thrown out in the world without any guidance or protection and then told me I had it lucky." She scoffs. "You and dad might have thought you were protecting me. I thought they were barriers. I thought you were holding me back. Not allowing me to grow. Not allowing me to be who I am. Molding me into your perfect mini-scientist brainiac Matheson. I could never really live up to either of your expectations."

Charlie continues. "I love you, mom, but I've never really felt that connection to either you or dad that I feel with Miles and don't think I haven't wondered why that is. I'm not an idiot especially with everything that has gone down recently."

Rachel's heart seizes to the point of almost stopping. She looks at Charlie. _I'm not an idiot._ She thinks back to Miles saying the same exact thing. "So, you think you figured it all out then?"

"What? You unhappy with my reaction? Did you want some heartbreaking melodramatic confrontation to give you all those feels of _oh, no, Charlie knows. It must be the end of the world_, which is fucking hilarious since it very well could be and that reaction would never come from you. That ultimately brings me to my point: with everything going wrong around us, what's another thing to chunk onto that enormous pile of complications we call life. I could say well, things couldn't get any worse and presto, one of us could die, which is probably what's going to happen anyways."

Charlie continues on not looking at her. "I always wondered why Danny was the favorite and how come you and dad were closer to Danny like you held me in some type of resentment or higher standards I knew nothing about. I thought maybe it was because I was the oldest, but that excuse got old. I tried living up to the expectations then realized it was useless, which was...what is the word...profound. Yeah, profound." She looks at Rachel. "And then suddenly it dawned on me on this long trip here as well as some insights from a friend. You resented me because I reminded you of something you wanted so badly and couldn't have perhaps in more than one way."

Rachel looked away chuckling sarcastically. "I don't know how anyone could ever underestimate you." She looks back at her. "Charlie, you are you and even if the world had not gone to chaos and we had all lived normal lives, I'm pretty sure neither, me nor dad nor Miles...not anyone could stop you from being you. You are...very special and don't think dad and I didn't know that. Parenting...well, it's an experiment with each child. You do your best and hope like hell it works. I'm proud of you. No matter what happens. Even if you come to hate me for my transgressions in the past because...well, you are a part of me and a part of dad..." she takes a deep breath "...and a part of Miles and while I may have once resented it, I no longer do. That was my issue, not yours. You've grown into this beautiful woman that is smart and resourceful and resilient...that I admire and love so much."

Charlie laughs thinking only a scientist would compare parenting to an experiment. She looks at Rachel tilting her head smiling.

The boys come in interrupting them: Aaron, Miles, Bass, and Adam. They immediately sit down next to them grabbing the bottle passing it around talking about what they learned. When things quiet down and everyone has a drink, Charlie turns to Miles indifferently and casually. "So, you're my dad, huh?"

Aaron spits his drink across the table once again barely missing Bass.

Miles looks at her and sighs. He looks at Rachel sitting next to him who shrugs. "I don't think I've had enough to drink yet for this conversation." He downs his glass and refills.

"Miles being my dad is the only thing that's made any sense since my feet hit the ground in Chicago. I'm not angry at either of you circumstances being what they are. I'm sure you had your reasons and I know dad knew because of certain things he said and did over the years that I found extremely odd that only now have made any sense. So, while I'm sure you have a good explanation for it, I'd just rather continue on and not really go into the excuses and whatnot of what happened until I'm ready." She gets up and moves to the window. She turns to look at them all. "I get it. You can't really help who you fall in love with, can you?" She laughs looking directly at Bass. "Don't worry, Miles, it's like I told mom. If you're looking for some melodramatic confrontation that leads to angst and tears and snot, I don't roll like that. Some of us like to let it cook a while then slowly spiral into the crazies. Don't we, Bass?" She walks out leaving them all there gaping.

Aaron recovers taking the bottle and refilling his glass. "This family has more drama than _One Life to Live_."


	28. Chapter 28

The dank stink of mud hangs in the humid air around her like a fog. A mist that weighs everything down. Nature's scent permeates every core. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath then lets it out slowly. Silence. Not even nature speaks to her. It's as if all sounds are in a vacuum gone from existence.

She appears suddenly in the mist emerging from it like a ghost. She is five or six years old. Charlie doesn't know. Besides Danny, she had not really been around a lot of kids. She chose to spend her time wandering on her own if not through undiscovered uninhabited areas than those of her imagination. Vast kingdoms of varying degrees from outer space to under the seas where entire cultures of new creatures existed even if they were created by hers truly. Those places only a child pretending would go. Things you forget about once you're an adult with reality kicking your ass day in and day out. So, it is with curiosity and caution that she approaches the small child.

She is tow headed...blonde with the bluest eyes and a perfect face. Hair in pigtails. She is clean - too clean - and appears to be healthy. Her clothes are perfect. She is not smiling, but not sad.

She stops in front of Charlie and they look at each other. Charlie's gut is telling her something is not quite right especially when they both continue to stare at each other.

"Hi."

"Hello."

"You are the nanites."

"Yes."

Charlie sighs. She knows what this has to be about. "I take it Aaron asked you?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"The appearance we take is an 67.7% chance of what your descendants would look like combined genetically with those of the male you are currently copulating. We were told that you should be made aware of this."

Charlie is dismayed. Eyes wide her mouth hanging open in shock taking in the child in front of her. Her feelings are all over the place ultimately ending up panicked, terrified, embarrassed, and infuriated.

"Why...why come to me like this? This is not what I asked. I asked...wait a minute...what did Aaron tell you that I asked?"

"He explained to us that you did not wish to..."

Charlie holds up her hands. "Okay! Yes, I get it. No need to elaborate." She swallows and looks around a flush spreading upwards making her cheeks hot with embarrassment. It was said with such clinical coldness she was kind of ashamed she even asked Aaron in the first place. She was drunk at the time and terrified of ending up pregnant was the one thought consuming her over indulgent inebriated state while looking at Bass and wondering _what if_. This certainly isn't the time to get pregnant and to do so would be an enormous problem. Leave it up to reality to intrude on such...interesting circumstances. If you can even call this _reality_.

Charlie starts to laugh. "I wonder if this is what Alice felt like? Only embarrassed and...ridiculous." She laughs harder and the child tilts its head and that's when Charlie sees it. She stops laughing. The eyes. She knows those eyes. And that look. A vice tightens around her heart and she takes a deep breath. She steps back.

"Goddammit. Son of a bitch. Fuck. Fuckity. Fuck. Fuck!"

The snap of twigs breaks her attention. Emerging to the right of her and the child is the owner of those eyes. He's looking between her and the child in puzzlement.

She cringes grimacing - if you can even do both, I'm sure she was - in further embarrassment. "Fantastic," she mutters sighing rubbing her temples.

"Hi." Bass looks at the child grinning. One of his grins that makes her heart flutter and her knees weak.

"Hello." The child grins at Bass and Charlie swears it's a crooked grin much like her own. Charlie groans.

Bass is no dummy. He's likely to figure something isn't right by the overall appearance and demeanor of the child. Not to mention Charlie is standing there beet red shrinking from embarrassment and humiliation. She's also wondering how it will make him feel knowing that she's trying hard NOT to have his child. That thought sends a pang of guilt through her and an ache. _How in the world do you get yourself in these situations, Charlie?_

Bass is still looking between her and the smiling child. Charlie smiles at him not realizing what she's doing and Bass does a double take at them both with a look she's never quite seen from him before. To make matters worse, here comes Adam and Miles.

Miles looks between all of them with that comical expression of _WTF_ on his face. "What's going on?"

Charlie panics and bails. _Avoidance is always good, right?_ "I'm going...back...the other way to...look for...anything else." She practically runs from them and that's the last they see of her for three days.

* * *

"Sometimes I forget how young you are." Hands on his hips. He is pissed.

"What?!" Now she is pissed.

"Yes, you heard me. Young. Juvenile. Inexperienced. Childlike. Naive. Immature!" He's practically yelling at her now enunciating every word. In her face.

She starts laughing. It doesn't reach her eyes. "Only you would know you decrepit ancient broken-down fossil!"

"You are the most pigheaded impulsive brat ever. It's a wonder you lasted this long."

Miles is standing back looking between them chuckling.

They look at him. "What?!" They both yell.

He's laughing harder. "You got this, right, Bass? I'm so glad she's your problem now. You both can deal with each other. Serves you right." He walks off laughing harder going to find Rachel to tell her that her daughter is alive and well.

They had attacked a reprogramming center at night. Perfect plan and all had gone smoothly with the three of them working together brilliantly like three surfers paralleling the perfect wave until Charlie had gotten herself caught. On purpose. She did this in hopes of catching the eye of one of the men on the Neville's list. A few officers had gotten away and she had decided to do what she did best. It was unpredictable and impulsive just like she is. This was, of course, after the visit from the little tow headed nanite child that looked suspiciously like a young Charlie that disappeared as soon as Charlie did.

"I saw the officers and just went with it." She explains to them three days after they had attacked. They both were furious with her because they had no clue what happened to her. She had played the delicate lost female and the man sucked it right up taking her back to D.C. and sheltering her in his home where she proceeded to gather valuable intel by making the poor sap fall in love with her. He's afraid to ask what else happened.

"Three days, Charlotte! Three! We had no clue what happened to you. Think about that for one second, will you?" Bass runs a hand through his hair then down his face over his beard trying to wipe away the anger.

She pauses and looks at him. She's quiet. She takes a deep breath. "Yes, I suppose I was not thinking about you. I had a plan and went with it. From now on you should proceed without me regardless if you think I'm alive or dead." She doesn't mean to be cold, but if it means the plan fails and succeeds, she would rather it succeed and if that means sacrificing certain things, so be it."

"No." General Monroe is back jaw clenched eyes calm and deadly.

She laughs again. She's turned her anger into a determined resolve. She'll show him. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"Yes."

Miles and Rachel walk into the room. "Then you can do the rest on your own and I'll work my own plan." She walks out.


	29. Chapter 29

Months Earlier

"Okay, think of your breasts like...your _swords_. They are _weapons_, but they are nothing without this." Duncan points her finger into Charlie's forehead. "We would all like to be..._pacifists_ like Gandhi, but we don't live in that kind of world...unfortunately so, sometimes we simply have to use our..._weapons_ and your _girls_ can be mighty fine weapons."

Charlie laughs.

"Remember though, brains first and don't give the main prize away unless you absolutely have to...or you want to. Your choice. Not theirs."

Present - ish

Bass, Miles, and Adam had attacked the last four reprogramming centers and successfully destroyed them. They had been gone for weeks. He isn't sure. More than three...less than six? He only knows he is tired and didn't think he'd have to go through with this shit...again. He found himself slicing through bodies like it was the first go round.

Finally they are back in D.C. He misses Charlie, but she's not here. He, Rachel, Miles, and Aaron are sitting around the table.

"There has got to be another way to do this. I feel like we're doing the same shit we did last time. Where does this end? I'm tired of slicing people up like they're turkeys. I'm sick of all the violence."

Aaron is looking at him shocked.

"What? I didn't like it the first time around. Just because I'm good at something doesn't mean I like it." Bass is looking at Miles.

"I got nothing."

"Aaron and I are working on something with the nanites."

Miles looks at her. "What is it? Wait...nevermind. I probably won't understand it anyways. Where is Charlie?"

"She's at work." Rachel is smiling. Aaron coughs uncomfortable looking around for an exit like he wants to creep out of the room without being seen.

Miles is confused. "What?"

"She's taken up a new profession."

Miles takes a deep breath and tilts his head. "Do I wanna know?"

Rachel laughs. "Do either of you know the tale of _Mata Hari_?"

"Where is she, Rachel?" Bass is...concerned.

* * *

The gas lights throughout the room are dim practically dark. The room is fairly large enough to hold one hundred or so sweaty male - and some female - bodies. Cigarette and cigar smoke saturate the air. There are no 'no smoking' rules in the post blackout world.

The crowd quiets as much as a bunch of drunk soldiers and suits can. Two bongo musicians in the corner preparing for the main attraction. Mostly men in uniform and stiffs in business suits. Patriots. All fairly juiced and anxious awaiting the entertainment on stage in front of them.

The stage is waist high T-shaped with a big black pole at the bottom of the T and three at the top. Some big bouncers standing around the end facing the crowd look like leftover wrestlers from another time no expressions on their faces whatsoever besides...constipation?

Bass, Adam, and Miles are in a back corner disguised - in Patriot uniforms, of course - drinks in hand.

Adam is nervous. "Coming in here is pretty ballsy even for you two. What makes you think you won't be recognized?"

"It's dark. They're sauced. I doubt they'd recognize their own mothers." Miles downs the drink and motions for another. He looks at Bass who is fairly sober, but drink in hand. "What? This bothers you?"

Bass looks at him and doesn't say anything for a few. "I don't know yet. Give it a minute. I'm sure something will piss me off."

Miles laughs. "You know how she is. She's going to do what she's going to do. None of us can stop her. Just join her for the ride."

"Fuck, Miles, she's just like you. The only thing I could ever do is join you for the ride. She's just better looking and has nice…"

"Stop. I can kick your ass."

"You can try, old man."

"Well, she's definitely better looking and smarter than that...what was that strippers name in Charleston?" Miles is smiling at him.

"No, no, no. Not even...I don't want to go there."

Adam is looking between them. "You guys always have the best stories. Let's hear it. Come on."

The music cuts them off as two bongo players begin to drum. Out comes the main attraction in little more than a simple classic black two piece in skin tight boyshorts with a sports bra barely covering her showing LOTS of skin. LOTS of nice ivory smooth skin.

She comes out barefoot pointing her toes as she walks slowly towards the end of the T. Head down. Hair up under a black fedora.

The men go crazy enthusiasm sending them to their feet like a bunch of vociferous howler monkeys in heat. As the music starts to speed up beating rhythmically, the men start to clap whistling and yelling at the object of their ardor.

As the drums go full force into the beat, the dancer whose back is now to the men throws off her hat her long blonde wavy hair cascading down her back making the men go even wilder.

"Jesus." Bass recognizes that body. That hair. Those legs.

"Goddammit." Miles is having another fatherly moment.

Bass and Miles are standing there drinks paused halfway to their lips mouth agape staring at Charlie as she moves to the music jumping and wrapping herself around a pole like she'd done it her entire life.

Adam is smiling his big goofy grin laughing finding all this amusing especially Miles and Bass' reactions. He tilts his head staring at her as she turns upside down legs spread sliding down the poll. "When did she become so...limber?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

Adam and Miles look at him.

Bass is transfixed by her trying hard not to march onto that stage and throw her over his shoulder taking her out of there and...what? He didn't know if he wanted to spank her or...something else more delicious as thoughts of those legs wrapping around his waist..._enough_!

Five minutes later her routine is finished and the crowd goes crazy. She bows and exits the stage gracefully that infamous genuine crooked smile spread wide across her face. She's actually enjoying herself.

Adam is laughing. "Man, that girl is…" he stops. Miles and Bass are glaring at him. "...a good dancer." He smothers his laughter at their ire.

"I need some air." Bass exits the club Miles and Adam following close behind. As he exits he sees Neville, Jr. in the back opposite sitting at a table alone. _Now why does that NOT make him feel any better?_

Bass takes a big gulp of air and adjusts himself thinking of anything else but Charlotte wrapped around that pole...and his waist. "What did I get myself into?" He mumbles to himself rubbing his eyes.

Miles chuckles.

"What are you laughing at? She's your brat." Which just makes him laugh harder.

"The most enjoyment I've had these past few months besides Rachel is watching you, poon hound that you are...were, be totally whipped by my kid who has you wrapped around her little finger." He's doubled over crying laughing. "Endless source of amusement for me. I could sit back and watch an entire show of it."

"I'm so glad you're amused," Bass grumbles walking off leaving him there laughing.


	30. Chapter 30

"Hi."

Charlie walks into the room over to where he's standing at the window leaning against it. She sits down in the window seat opposite him pulling her legs up sitting her chin on her knees. The room is dark except for the glow of the full moon high in the midnight sky coming through the very tall window.

"I saw your...act." He's looking at her with that tender expression that makes her feel all warm and tingly. She wonders if that butterfly feeling she gets when she's around him will ever go away because it hasn't yet.

She laughs. "What did you think?"

His wide grin makes way for his low laugh. He's still trying to _adjust_. He walked off his issues and the green eyed monster earlier realizing that Charlotte was doing what she could to help them and others and regardless of everything, he trusts her. As much as Miles. If not more. She's strong, assertive, and smart and she knows what she's doing. Still, he's not going to be all keen about sharing her with others. "It's a good...cover. Is it working?"

She doesn't want to talk about the Patriots."Yes. It's tough, but fun. It took me lots of practice and hard work to get it right. Twelve hour days the first couple of weeks. If you stuck around for the rest of the show, there are other girls that are much better at it and there's even one guy, Shane, that does it. They're fantastic dancers. They put me in heels the first time and I fell flat on my face. No heels for me."

He moves into the window seat across from her chuckling. "No, I don't really see you in heels, Charlotte, but I'm partial to your bare feet. You really don't even need makeup."

She's missed him. Even more so since their last conversation had been a...disagreement, but she's never been one to hang onto that kind of anger for long. It's a waste of energy. His attempts to protect her sometimes go too far and she doesn't like to be...controlled. If and when she fucks up, she likes to do it on her own that way she can learn a lesson at least. It's not like they're...committed to one another. He's been really good at granting her space to be who she is and make her own way, but sometimes, his macho attitude rules his emotions and she finds herself wanting to punch him in the face, which she's done before and not afraid to do again. Then again, that is probably just as bad as his macho behavior. Whatever. She's not perfect.

She found his continued attempts, at first, to push his protection on her...charming, but that gets old. It's more like a question of trust now. Yes, she will need protection, occasionally; they all do, but not to the point of not allowing her to make her own decisions and choices. Yes, she should have contacted them when she got back into town, but it would have blown her cover. The officer, Jones, thought her weak and bedridden recovering from a harrowing journey to her new job in D.C. attacked by those _heathen rebels_ along the way.

Speaking of Jones, the man is nicer than the rest of her marks. He's more of a gentleman and not the creep most of them were. It was Jones that gave her the idea for the pole dancing job since she found that he frequented the place regularly as did other officers and Patriot 'elites'. She thought the place was a strip joint at first until she saw the performances. The way the dancers contorted and moved their bodies in tune with the drums was...graceful, beautiful, and impressive. It was like poetry in motion. It reminded her of a black and white art book on dancers she had once found moldy and mildewed by the age of time and who didn't like music, what little she's ever heard.

Then she recognized one of the dancers: Annie. Kind, shy, beautiful, petite Annie with the courage and heart of a lion. A member of Duncan's clan that had, she thought, gone south.

When they had first met she had reminded her of Nora in appearance: beautiful with a daring spirit. They immediately bonded. She had approached Annie after her performance and they cried and hugged each other like long lost sisters.

Six other girls were there and they spent the night catching up and explaining all. Duncan's girls once again are riding to help others despite not having Duncan. It had been a fantastic night filled with memories, hugs, tears, and laughter...and, of course, alcohol. A story for another...time.

She looks at him hesitating trying to find the right words. "There's lots of deception in what I do and what appears is usually not what...is. Do you...trust me?"

"I trust you." Firm without hesitation. "You do what you need to do. Just...stay safe."

She's thinking of the incident outside the bar with the _opinionated_ woman in which she laughed at the time, but, like everything, it does make her wonder. "We gotta do what we gotta do and people like to make LOTS of assumptions about certain things. Everyone has their roles to play. Some like it; some don't. This ain't no fairy tale and I ain't no Cinderella. I'm not here to fit into their idea of perfection."

Bass frowns sensing that someone judged her harshly and she's...doubting herself? "Jealousy…fear? Some people are delusional expecting rainbows, puppies, and kittens to fly out their ass. They fear what they don't understand and take the moral high ground because they don't understand the ambiguity of life. There's always been double standards with men and women. What happened, Charlie?"

She laughs at that image. The rainbows, puppies, and kittens one. "Nothing. A woman. Outside the club."

"You can always go back and skewer her with a sword."

She laughs outright, but then looks at him to make sure he's joking. He is. "Don't tempt me. And...what about you? Are you ever jealous?"

"Is that what this is about? Me being jealous?"

"Everything in my life isn't always about you. Are you...jealous?" He's only ever acted jealous over her...maybe once. The man is good at controlling his emotions...to a point. She doesn't mind him not being jealous. Jealousy is an emotion that really does no one any good. That emotional girly in her likes it...occasionally. Too much though and it's an annoyance she would rather do without. She smiles at him.

That smile is what he missed. These conversations. Their verbal sparring not to mention...other things. He notices she's removed the costume and all the makeup. She's just Charlie now. The young stubborn smart fiercely independent woman with the big heart and loads of compassion that's ever evolving. "You're slowly spiralling into the crazies, aren't you? _'You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.'_"

She laughs out loud. How can a girl NOT fall in love with a guy that quotes Alice. "So, what if I were? Would you still like me?" She's inching closer to him grinning like an idiot.

"God, yes. Even more. Then you'd be normal like the rest of us." Bass is looking at her wondering why she seems...timid? He opens his arms and in she slides like its home and she's meant to be there and she is. She buries her head in his chest. Arms wrapped tightly around him like she's hanging on for life.

"This is sometimes better than sex." She mumbles into his chest.

He grunts. "I wish I could agree with that right now," but his body has other ideas. She feels so good. They both run hot; together, they're fire.

"You smell...good."

He chuckles. "I smell...like...me."

"Yes, that's what I mean," her voice is muffled.

He buries his face into her hair and takes a deep breath and starts coughing. "God, what's that awful smell?"

She's laughing at him. "It's perfume one of the girls gave me. Isn't it nasty?"

"Yes. Christ. I've smelled decomp that's better. How in the hell are you supposed to be a femme fatale with that obnoxious smell? On the other hand, maybe you should definitely wear it when you _work_." He gets up pulling her with him. "Where is the vanilla? Let's go find you a bath and some vanilla soap." He's dragging her out of the room behind him by the hand and she's eager and grinning like an idiot thinking it had been a long time since they had taken a _bath_ together. Now hugging seems like just...hugging and a prelude to something far more interesting and fun...and what the hell is a _femme fatale_ and...where are they going to find vanilla soap at this time of night?


	31. Chapter 31

Months Earlier

She's taking deep breaths pacing back and forth stopping to think as if the movement would make it so much harder to come to the truth...the realization. _Catch your breath, Charlie. Think about it. It makes sense. It's the only thing that makes sense. Dad saying what he did. The conversations she's walked in on over the years between her mom and dad. It had to be it. It makes so much sense. It's the only thing that has made any sense. Miles. Her mom. Her dad._ A thousand images...scenes going through her head all at once leading her to more questions and more plausible explanations...credible and reasonable. It was the only answer.

Duncan is leaning against a tree watching her closely allowing her to sort out what she's going through being there if Charlie needs her. Ten minutes had gone by. One of the girls approaches and Duncan motions her off. _Later_, she mouths.

"Tell me. Again. About that connection." Charlie needs to hear Duncan's voice. She needs to understand what triggered this line of thinking and why she thinks this is what it is.

Duncan looks at her frowning. Wondering. Acquiescing. "I never did have a connection with my mom. I love her deeply, but I was a daddy's little girl and once he died...I never did have that connection with her that I felt with him. I tried. Maybe if we had more time…but I doubt it. Some things just are and there's nothing you can do about it no matter how much you try." Duncan pauses before continuing. "Are you okay, doll?"

Charlie is calming gradually looking at Duncan listening to her. Her breathing returns to normal. She takes a deep breath. Her heart slows and the realization begins to take hold. The surge of emotions rushing through her receding slowly to a dull roar resting in a stoic acceptance of what probably is. It makes too much sense to not be especially with recent revelations.

She nods then laughs. "Have you ever listened to someone say something that has nothing to do with you and suddenly had a revelation that...is pretty much a bombshell and things that made no sense in the past suddenly make all the sense in the world?"

Duncan laughs. "Yes, that's usually how it happens."

* * *

Present - ish

"If there was power and this was a normal world, what would I be doing?" Charlie's on her stomach in the grass chin resting on folded arms. Bass is on his back using her back for a pillow.

It's a nice day. The sun is shining. The temperature is mild. Not too hot and not too cold and the wind is slight occasionally blowing her hair into her eyes. It's peaceful. Quiet. They are near the river. It's one of those days she used to take for granted. Not anymore and definitely not with him.

"If you were normal...probably graduating college."

She laughs pushing her head up, elbows on the ground, and turns her head to look back over her left shoulder at him. "What do you mean 'if I were normal'?"

"Normal, average, ordinary...you are anything but. I see you as someone that would want to go out and learn by experience in the world and not in a classroom. You're like Miles. He hated sitting in a classroom. Drove him crazy. I didn't much care for it either." He took a deep breath throwing his arm over his eyes. "They charged you out the ass for college of which you'd have to borrow all in student loans and spend most of your life paying off. You're forced to take classes you don't wanna take and the classes you want to take, you'll probably NEVER find a job - not the one you wanted - especially not one to pay off all those student loans and you're stuck working in a job you hate for an asshole boss the rest of your life. I much preferred the Marines. The travel, the adventure, the challenges, the different cultures, and the...women…" She feels him turn on his side. His face in her back. He shrugs and smiles. "...they loved the uniform."

She laughs. "Ass."

He sits up rolling her over onto her back and pinning her hands to the ground trapping her thighs between his looking down at her. "What?" He's smiling.

"You heard me. I ain't afraid of you." She's laughing trying to break free. It ain't happening. She stops struggling and looks at him for a long minute. "And what would you be doing in a normal world?"

Without hesitating he looks at her with that tender expression. "Searching for you probably."

Charlie tilts her head and laughs. "You're incredibly smooth with the lines, you know?"

Bass grins mischievously. "So I've been told." After a several minutes his gaze turns serious. He loses the smile. A shadow enters his eyes. He withdraws pulling his hands from hers and moves to sit against the closest tree. He's quiet for a few moments. "You deserve better," Bass says looking at her frowning remorsefully.

Charlotte stopped smiling when he did sitting up looking at him. At his last statement, she stands in front of him looking at him at first in shock then confusion then the anger sets in. Her hands move to perch on her hips knuckles white. She's pissed. "Stop it. Now. That right there really pisses me off. What makes you or anyone else think they get to decide that other than me?"

"I…"

"Shut up. I'm not finished."

Bass laughs placing his wrists on his knees shutting his mouth looking up at her. Charlie is pacing back and forth in front of him clearly agitated.

"What makes you think you've cornered the market in darkness? You don't know what's in my mind. You've no freakin' clue. Why must you think I'm an angel? I'm not. I have the same darkness in me that's in you, Miles, mom...everyone. I've done things. Things you don't know about. Bad things. Some of which I've enjoyed." She pauses pacing then continues again. "I never want to hear something like that come out of your mouth again because when you say stuff like that, you're dismissing all the good you've done and all that you've become since then and all that you...we can be together. All of us. Including Miles, mom, Aaron, and Adam."

Bass is looking up at her intensely. Quietly. "I'm just saying don't be naive about my baggage, Charlie."

She stops pacing looking down at him hands on her hips. "Everyone has baggage, Bass. Some are a bit more worn and ragged and carry some truly bad...mistakes is all. You own it, face the consequences, and move forward. It's how you carry it and what you do with it that matters. No matter your past. Your mistakes." She takes a deep breath. "You? Me? I get to decide. I get to make that choice. I have the Patriots trying to take away my choices; I don't need you doing it too. This is my choice. Not anyone else's and I choose you so you better continue earning it and stop with all the bullshit whining about me deserving better."


End file.
